Telepathic Heart
by kaze no akatsuki
Summary: Breathing some fresh life into an overused plot. Integra is mortal; there's nothing Alucard can do about it. (Not without risking the sanctity of the relationship he has with her anyway) And Mortals die. But sometimes, their ghosts just won't leave- and maybe turn up in some unexpected places. Mostly AluSeras, slight Alu-tegra, and Angst, because Alucard's a widow many times over.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, I totally realize I have so much on my plate right now, but this plot bunny WILL NOT leave me alone. Originally, I intended to post this as a sequel to my Crossover fanfic Given (Hellsing x Black Butler) But then I realised there just wasn't a way to make it cohesively work. So this will stand alone.**

 **Okay, I am hugely conflicted about the Alucard x Seras VS Alucard x Integra thing...I like both pairings in the right setting. For this fic, it will be largely AluSeras. HOWEVER, there may be a few Alu-tegra moments, because their relationship is deliciously complicated and- I just can't help myself. This takes place 7 years after Alucard's return.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hellsing/Ultimate or any other constituent thereof. (That would be kind of wierd...) If I did, the plot would NOT have been even remotely the same because frankly I'm not a fan of "raining bullets". The noise is just annoying. But the characters are awesome, which is why I'm here.**

 **WARNINGS: Will appear at the heading/AN of most chapters where applicable. There are allusions to Alucard and Seras' past in here, so if you aren't up to date with that, you might be confused/horrified. ANGST will be a pertinent theme. I'm not even going to hide it- Integra** _ **does**_ **die here. (Even despite the Alu-tegra) As a central plot device, too. :( But not all is lost. Spelling/grammar errors are partly to blame on the crap program I have and the fact I do this at 1:00AM most nights. Tired minds don't like to do complicated, but I try.**

 **Also, I have a stylistic habit of incorporating song lyrics/poetry that suits a chapter's theme; you aught be warned that a lot of the time, these song lyrics/poems ARE PLOT DEVICES; What does that mean? It means I use them to foreshadow and to illuminate upon the characters themselves or the general plot. However, you can skip them most of the time if it bugs you. There may be a few I recommend to read because of plot significance, (e.g setting the mood or giving a deeper meaning to the following text) but this is rare. I add them mostly because I listen to music while I write and because some songs seem to be made for this anime.**

 **Alright, now that my first-chapter A/N is done, let's go on, shall we?**

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 **CH I**

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Time.

There was either never enough, or far too much of it. For Seras, either was a possibility; after all, she was going to live a very long time, with any luck, and yet she never seemed to have enough time to do what she _had_ to do and what she _wanted_ to do in one night. Tonight was no exception.

Seras walked down the moonlit hallway, anxiety eating her up inside. She'd been forbade from going upstairs, at her Master's behest, and knew she had things to tend to down on the lower levels- men that needed breifing and dispatch, which she'd been largely placed in charge of in her Master's absence, among other nightly chores, their objective to keep her busy just precisely to keep her from getting anxious. Seras wasn't what she would consider a nervous person, but her Master's absence seven years ago had left a dent in her confidence; then, the preoccupation was a welcome distraction from her thoughts. And now the events going on upstairs had her all in a tizzy with worry.

Integra had collapsed.

It was as simple as that, it seemed, but Seras knew better. She couldn't place her finger on it, but she knew somehow that there was a larger, unspoken implication in the event. The fact her Master was up there with her now, doing who knows what, not only made that intuitive fact more concrete to Seras, but it added a whole other level of stress. Alucard was surprisingly predictable, to Seras at least, as long as he was _within sight_ of her. She had long since learned to read his movements and pay rapt attention to his less than obvious body language, though she'd be lying if she said intuition didn't play a role. She didn't always understand _how_ she understood her Master when seemingly no one else but Integra could, much less how she was able to do it so easily at times; but she did know that an Alucard out of her line of sight was one she had a _much_ harder time anticipating the behaviors of. He was still inherently unpredictable, as he did not frequently fancy letting her into his head, and she had the inkling sometimes purposefully did the opposite of what she expected him to just to try and throw off the "hunches" she would get watching him; whether he was in her line of sight or not, he could still throw curveballs- he just had a habit of throwing perceptively _bigger_ ones when she wasn't.

Seras paced back and forth up and down the hall fretfully, trying not to let her mind materialise the possible implications of Integra's fall. It would do her no good to worry about it, she told herself, and the chances of Alucard seriously hurting her were slim. He respected her, loved her even, possibly; he wouldn't be reckless. Would he? Lord knows he _could_ be, but Seras refused to think about that.

"She'll be fine...She's okay, she'll be fine..." Seras murmured quietly to herself. Her mind kept trying to slowly drag back around to all the possibilities, like a black, tarry sludge that was creeping through her mind, underneath the false pretenses she surrounded herself with in times like these, to keep those snaring, engulfing, asphyxiating thoughts at bay. But the tar was trying its damnest to seep through the cracks, trying to snag on her anxiety and swallow her up in it's foul, smelly viscosity. Her gut tensed and made her forget that this was the time of day she normally ate something, too lost in the self-digesting worry to pay much mind to being full. Suddenly, she felt a presence from the interior wall of the hallway, turning just in time to face her Master, who's guise-less face, with no hat and no glasses, was carefully blank as he materialized in front of her.

"Master! Is Sir Integra alright?" Seras asked, not bothering to conceal her concern.

"She will be alright." Alucard replied, his voice sending up a little yellow flag in Seras' mind. Something was most definitely not 'alright'.

"Are you sure? Did you call the medical staff?"

"I was there to watch them check up on her. They suspect it was just a simple imbalance of the sugars in her blood from lack of eating." Alucard stated, but the way he said it was far from comforting. His eyes remained partially unfocused, Seras noted as she peeked a glance at them, indicating his mind was elsewhere even whilst they were talking here.

"Master?" She inquired, concerned for him as well now.

"Seras, would you mind taking a walk with me?" The suddenness of his question and the sheer oddity of the request threw Seras off a moment.

"Um, yes, sure, but Master, what-"

"We have things to discuss, Seras. Many things, it would seem." He replied with an air of finality that only a King could muster. Alucard truly did not play "beat around the bush" very well.

"Yes, Master." Seras replied, letting her head bow submissively as she followed him into the foyer before simply phasing through the door. Her phasing abilities still weren't perfect, and even thrity years of practice had only done so much for her vampire abilities; still, she'd come a very long ways from where she'd been before. She could shape-shift, menially, into a bat or sometimes a cat, if she tried. Her phasing had initially been something she could only do with intense concentration, but it came easier to her now. Upon her Master's return seven years ago, he'd worked with her on the ability to phase through other objects besides walls, and they were still in the midsts of working on partial phasing of select body parts; a useful skill for those possible instances in which you might find "a sword at your throat".

They walked well beyond the gates of the manor and into the street in silence until Seras could take no more. "Master," she asked tenatively, his body language giving no clear indication of his mood, though she could assume it was not a positive one. "You wanted to talk about something with me?" She reminded him gently, not because she suspected he'd forgotten, but because his thoughts seemed to be very distracting- not that she could blame him.

"I presume you are aware, Seras, of what these sorts of incidents entail." He stated, voice smooth but somewhat staccato with a directory intonation. She knew, all right, but had been deliberately keeping those thoughts, that sticky, yucky tar far from her mind as she was able to keep it. _Now_ , of course, she didn't very well have a choice but to let the tar grab on and try not to struggle too much, not if this conversation was headed in the direction she anticipated.

"Yes, Master, but Sir Integra really will be alright, won't she?" Seras asked hopefully.

"For a time yet." His reply made Seras cringe. He appeared to notice, turning one scarlet eye over his shoulder to glance back at her before continuing. "She will not last forever, Seras. Already her body is beginning to go; she does not climb the stairs as well or pull her gun as fast as she once did."

"I'm sure you found out _that_ one the hard way," Seras mumbled under her breath. Her Master let a small, toothy smirk to form on his face for a moment, and Seras felt acconplished for making him do that much with his gloomy mood.

"Indeed, you seem to know me well." Alucard smirked wider for a moment before it was gone the next, replaced by a line that could be called a frown if one cocked their heads.

"Master..." Seras breathed, mentally preparing herself for her own question, still debating if she really wanted the answer. "...How long?"

"Long enough. You'll be able to say your goodbyes, as will I." Alucard said somberly. The very fact he'd mentioned his own farewells surprised Seras; usually he was more reserved about his feelings than that. Still, if he was going to be open about it...

"Sir, I...have a strange question, mayhaps." Seras once more ducked her head submissively when he stopped, turning around to face her. It was then that Seras realised they had wandered into the countryside, someplace near a thicket of trees that now cast long, spindly shadows over Alucard's face in the winter moon's light.

"Well?" He demanded after a moment. Seras had to blush slightly at her own question, but she was genuinely curious.

"Do you...do you love her? Integra, I mean." Seras watched in both facination and apprehension as her Master donned an expresssion first of surprise, then of a bizarre look combining confusion, as if he wasn't really sure, and a sort of absent look that lead her to believe he was seriously thinking on it.

"I can't say I've ever considered the idea," He admitted. "Love isn't something I know how to feel anymore."

"That is to say you couldn't identify it if you did feel it." Alucard quirked a brow at this.

"Well, that's one way to put it, I suppose. I'm not certain I am capable of such a complex emotion."

"Well, you can feel hatred, can't you?" Seras asked. Honestly, she'd never known her Master to genuinely hate anything- at least he never said so if he did - so she really didn't know if he could or not.

"Depends. Hatred is also a complex feeling...but, yes, I suppose I might be capable of it if I ever were to come across something that could vex me that badly." He said it in such the way that it was obvious he knew there was next to nothing left on earth that could do such a thing, but Seras ignored that for now.

"Well, if you can feel something as complicated as hatred, why should you be incapable of love?" Seras offered. "They're quite different feelings, I suppose, but are they really?" Seras couldn't help but let her mind mull over the thought for a moment, glad to have the temporary distraction from more morbid dwells of thought. Her Master's hand, placed gently atop her head, drew her from her musings.

"There's my Seras." Her Master had a habit of saying that now, since he'd returned. She didn't mind it, per-say, but she couldn't say she quite understood what it meant either.

"There is much for us to talk about." Alucard said, drawing his hand back. "We both know Integra will not last forever. Sooner or later her mortality will claim her..." Alucard tilted his head back to gaze at the moon as he said this, perhaps trying to conceal from the much shorter Seras the emotions she knew were being reflected in them. "...And when it does, all the seals on me will be released. Even I don't know what happens then." Alucard admitted with a short, soft bark of humorless laughter. "But I do know that I have been neglecting my duties for far too long now. A hundred years is a lot to catch up on." His voice sounded distant as he spoke of a different time, a time when he was a real king presiding over real subjects. The discovery that her Master's moniker as the "King of Vampires" was more than just a title was still a new one to Seras, and she admitted that it was still a hard concept for her to fully grasp or embrace. Alucard certainly fit the bill in some ways, but she just could not see him acting benevolently on behalf of his own kind, however ironic that might be considering she was one herself. Still, she'd never known him to show pity or mercy on the vampires they took out - and good kings were merciful, weren't they? At least a little? At the very least a King needed to be understanding, and understanding was not something Alucard was very good at sometimes. But then, who said he was a _good_ King?

 _ **"Don't discredit me so readily, Seras. You've yet to see the breadth of my obligations, but you will."**_

 _"Um, Sir?"_

 _ **"Did you think I was going to leave you behind once the restriction seals were eliminated?"**_ Seras mentally cringed at the implication. _"Well...Frankly, Master, I don't know_ _what_ _you intend to do."_ A deep, rumbling laughter rolled through her skull like thunder.

 _ **"You are the only hier I have, provided you live up to your expectations. Of course, it will likely be a very, very, very long time yet before I die, so you have plenty of time to do that."**_ He mentally laughed, though there was a bitter, almost melancholic note in it.

"Seras," He said aloud, drawing her from her thoughts. His tone was not grabbing, though, merely stating. "My Seras; A draculina. A _printesa*._ " He laughed shortly at himself for that, confusing his curious fledgling. _'Curious indeed.'_ Alucard turned then, walking on whilst still laughing at himself. " Yes, a _printesa de naopte_.**" He commented, still laughing at something Seras failed to get. She figured it was probably safer not to ask, though. After all, this was Alucard.

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 **Alrighty! Short chappie! Now for the thing I love to annoy everyone with-**

 **ASTERISKS! (man, I get way too freaking excited writing that- every time...)**

 ***** _ **Printesa**_ **:** _Is pronounced like the spanish Princessa, but with a slight "tz" sound where the T is. There's actually a different letter there, but I only have an english keyboard, so I can't type romanian letters._

 ****** _ **Printesa de naopte:**_ _Roughly translates "Princess of the night." Which is technically true if Seras is his Childe. After all, Alucard is, for this fic's purposes, a literal King. (The position suits his personality too well, I couldn't pass it up.)Had that revelation in the middle of college Writing class._

 _"Wait, wouldn't that make Seras...A PRINCESS?!"_

 _...yeah._

 **Okay, so for those who are new: I ask for one review per chapter baseline to get a figure for the demand of my fics. More demand=faster updates. Still, I'm a college kid, and life loves to get in the way of writing, so expect reasonable delays. That said, if you want the next chapter, please, REVIEW; I accept criticism when it is constructive, and don't mind the odd comment. ;)**

 **Until then, Aufweidersehen!**


	2. Chapter 2

**WOW. This took off like a freaking rocket; 6 reviews in the first 36 hours? Maybe it's because I'm a noob, but that's a lot to me. Thank you all so much for your encouraging words!**

 **Okay, getting this show on the road:**

 **WARNINGS: Not too much for this chapter. Some relationship building. Some angst. The usual.**

 **A NOTE: I tend to portray Alucard's less looked upon sides, thus he may seem OOC at times. Seras has always seemed like a very discreetly complex person to me, a recipe of contradictions and surprise reactions- Oh, you're a vampire now? Cool. Your Master is a trigger-happy lunatic? Also cool. Your Master grows a mustache and** _ **suddenly**_ **you're surprised? WTF? - So she may also at times seem OOC. But considering the sheer volume of OOC and AU plots out there, I don't know what I'm bothering to warn you for.**

 **Going onward with our first song, which kind of sets the mood for the whole fic and is a larger inspiration for it.**

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 **CH II**

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 _ **I Found**_

 _By Amber Run_

 _..._

 _I'll use you as a warning sign_

 _That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind;_

 _And I'll use you as a focal point_

 _So I don't lose sight of what I want;_

 _I've moved farther than I thought I would,_

 _But I missed you more than I thought I would;_

 _I'll use you as a warning sign,_

 _That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind-_

 _Oh and I found love where it wasn't supposed to be,_

 _Right in front of me-_

 _Talk some sense to me;_

 _I found love where it wasn't supposed to be-_

 _Right in front of me;_

 _Talk some sense to me..._

 _..._

 _I'll use you as a makeshift gauge_

 _Of how much to give and how much to take;_

 _I'll use you as a warning sign_

 _That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind;_

 _Oh and I found love where it wasn't supposed to be-_

 _Right in front of me-_

 _Talk some sense to me;_

 _I found love where it wasn't supposed to be-_

 _Right in front of me;_

 _Talk some sense to me..._

 _..._

 _Oh and I found love where it wasn't supposed to be-_

 _Right in front of me-_

 _Talk some sense to me;_

 _I found love where it wasn't supposed to be-_

 _Right in front of me;_

 _Talk some sense to me..._

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Seras continued to follow her Master as they walked through the countryside, a comfortable silence descending upon them. As they came upon a dirt road, Seras loyally followed when her Master turned down it on a whim, curious where it lead.

"Master, where are we going?" Seras asked after a moment. She wasn't sure even he knew, but just in case there was a designated destination...

"Where we go is unimportant." He replied smoothly. There was a deliberate pause. "You are aware of where I come from, yes?" The question, so aptly spoken, made Seras blink.

"Um, yes?" Seras replied quizically. "You're from Romania, right?"

"Correct." When there was no further explanation, Seras sighed.

"And?" Seras prompted gently.

"Then you should be aware of the fact that that is where my castle- and the bulk of my duties- preside." Alucard answered simply. Seras pondered it a moment.

"So...when...when the seals break," Seras said softly, as if saying it too loudly would make it happen sooner. "Is that where we'll be going? To Romania?"

"Yes." A funny, yet also surprisingly practical thought popped into her head then.

"Guess I should brush up on my Romanian then, huh?" Seras offered a tenative smile, catching her Master once more looking over his shoulder to watch her. "Maybe you could help me with that." When Alucard offered no reply, Seras rushed up behind him to peer around his broad shoulder to glance at his face.

"Master?"

"Perhaps I should." He said finally, a thoughtful expression on his long, pale face. His eyes had shadows in them though, the light of the moon catching them at a odd angle that made his irises seem hard and soft at the same time, as though he felt conflicted over his own feelings. Knowing him, Seras thought, he probably did.

It was comforting, in a way, to see him look like that; to know that she wasn't the only one battling the dark visions her inner demons were dancing in front of her face, tempting her, trying their damndest to make her give in to the sludge that had built up at the bottom of her heart, the tar that wanted to swallow her. Tempting her to give in to the poisonous thoughts of death, to seed her mind with a garden of choking weeds before they laughed watching her asphyxiate beneath them. Sadistic creatures, the ones in her head. No more than the one in front of her, though, she supposed. _'Funny that, since Master does actually get inside my head sometimes.'_ Seras thought. Did that make him one of her personal demons, since he was also of a demonic nature? _'Maybe. But he'd have to torment me in my head; I'll grant you, he probably could if he really wanted to, but he usually doesn't outside of waltzing into my dreams sometimes to wake me up.'_ Seras' mood fell at that thought. Her Master had become a commonplace figure of her dreams not long after he vanished. He never stayed long, and sometimes she could swear it was actually him, trying desperately to reach out to her, to cling to something more than the nothingness. For that, she truly did pity him- she literally could not imagine what it felt like to be everywhere and nowhere, not having anything to even compare it to, but she could sort of imagine what it felt like to be in the grasps of something you could not understand even as you menially lived through it, to be stuck in a place in space that had no tactile feedback- that you could see, but not feel. In that regard, perhaps, she could imagine the sensation of being 'nowhere'.

"Your thoughts are tumluous. If you have questions, ask them. After all, that is what we are walking about for- to talk." Alucard said shortly, but his voice was soft at the edges, like frayed newspaper- still stiff enough to hurt if someone rolled it up and smacked you with it, but not sharp enough to give you a papercut anymore if you ran hour hand down the side.

"Well, I was just thinking...Well, you say you are a King and all, but wouldn't that mean you had servants?" It may not have been exactly what she'd been thinking, but it was something that had been bugging her since she was told about his role.

"Yes, what of them?"

"W-well, Sir...I guess what I'm trying to ask..." Seras fished in her mind for words that slipped away from her like- well, a fish.

"Yes?" Alucard answered impatiently.

"Well, servants can't really serve if there's no King or Master, can they?" Seras asked, mind taking off again. "So, does that mean that you have none now that you've been gone for so long, that they left for greener pastures once you were gone; or could it mean that they've been hiding out, waiting this entire time for your return?" Seras wondered out loud. "I mean, I guess it's possible some of them might even try to elect a King to replace you..." Not meaning to say something so crass, Seras immediately looked to her Master, watching his expression carefully. To her relief, it remained largely unchanged before a small smirk graced his features, teeth glinting in such a way to make the expression seem almost sardonic.

"I am sure they have; there are many who would willingly challenge me for my position. I am almost certain of it, in fact," Alucard said, smirk widening into his tell-tale smile, just a tint of crazy coloring the once-scary expression. "Those cowards. Likely, most of them are gone, as you said, proffering their loyalty to a Master who is more loyal in kind," Alucard said this with a bitter note in his voice. "The other part, the ones that were left, are probably divided among those that are genuinely loyal to me and those who have manipulated it so that they can remain in the castle whilst serving a lord who likes to play himself off as a King." The way her Master said this caused Seras to quirk a brow at him inquisitively. Sensing her unasked question, he decided to clarify. "I left a second to handle the affairs in my absence; I wouldn't call him a successor, but he's probably assumed that role in this time. Arrogant bastard." Seras tried to conceal a laugh at that, but failed miserably, if the glare sent her way was any indication.

"What?" Alucard snapped.

"Nothing; just that you can be a little arrogant yourself sometimes, Master...though since almost nothing can kill you now, I guess you have more of a right to be, but still."

"Ah, that is what they call 'confidence' young Draculina, not arrogance. To call it arrogance would imply that I was behaving that way to make up for some other weakness. But as you say, there is very little left in this world able to truly defeat me." Seras felt a pang of sympathy at the sorrowful tone he assumed when he said the last part. She understood that much of her Master, at least; the desire to die on your own terms. In his case, he desired a noble- no, a honorable death. To die fighting was one of the most honorable ways imaginable; yet her Master faced the conundrum of being practically undefeatable, and therefore capable of winning, and by extension not-dying, in every fight she'd seen so far thus.

"Well, I wouldn't call you invincible, if that helps." Seras offered. She hadn't really thought about it until it came out of her mouth, and now cringed from the simultaneously curious and daring expression on her Master's face.

"And pray-tell, what are my weaknesses in your eyes, Draculina?" Alucard said with an almost awe-like note, as though he'd never contemplated asking her before. He ought have, by Seras' logic, since she'd been by his side for a collective span of eight years and though Integra had been there longer- and didn't have any qualms about insulting him, either- she didn't spend the same kind of time with him that Seras did. Of course now that he was,in fact, asking her, she rather began to regret that line of thought, almost blaming it for jinxing her.

"U-Um, well," Seras began nervously, unsure if calling attention to his flaws was really wise. Her Master was a very proud individual- yet another thing she could understand about him. "I mean, sometimes you get so caught up in the thrill you don't pay attention to what's going on around you, which leaves you kind of vulnerable," Seras offered as meekly as possible. It was then that she realised belatedly they had stopped walking some time ago. "Not that that really counts, since nothing- well, almost nothing- can kill you, so..." Seras kept her head down, trying to think of the less-insulting of things to say.

"You _do_ know I can get into your mind and find out if I truly desire to." Alucard commented almost casually. Suavely. " I thought I would give you the option of being able to say them to my face without fear of repurcussion; you will find it is not a chance many individuals get." Catching her mind up to his words quickly, she nodded, still unsure.

"Yes, Master..."

"Now, I genuinely want to know." Alucard said, stepping towards her purposefully. She wanted to step back, but knew her Master would percieve it as weakness if she did. She swallowed as she held her ground, some part of her realising he knew she was holding it purposefully; that part of him, the mocking, dominating part of him, she could admit she was frequently ill-fond of. He came up to within centimeters of her, towering over her with a looming shadow that she could practically feel buzzing with the life of his aura. Funny that even his shadow was like an extension of himself- not that she supposed she should feel surprised, all things considered. He bent his head down to look at her nearly owlishly, and she instinctively avoided his gaze, not wanting to come off as confrontational for what she was about to say.

Taking a deep breath, she sighed lightly. "Well, not to sound prudish or like a hippocrite, but the fact you actively avoid your feelings is sort of like a weakness, to the right person." His brow shot up at this, confusion lighting his scarlet eyes like a dim candle.

"Explain." He demanded simply.

"Well," Seras began, holding her hands up placatingly. "It indicates an insecurity. As a police officer, being able to recognise what gets under your suspect's skin is a useful skill, even if I never really had to employ it, so maybe that's why I think of it that way; but as I see things, all it would take was someone to sway in you a really strong emotion and you would be rendered psychologically defenseless; at their whim to manipulate, depending in the emotion in question. Of course, I should think stirring that kind of emotion would take so much effort it ultimately wouldn't be worth it, but you never know." Seras shrugged. Alucard's expression was of complete surprise, genuinely having been caught off guard by that sort of observation. His expression then changed to one of a quiet sort of pride and a deeper curiousity.

"And a good way to remedy this weakness?" Seras looked up at him then, suddenly finding him to be much closer than she thought, causing her to rock back on her heels. His eyes followed her again in a raptor-like fashion, genuine curiosity etched into his features.

"W-well, that would require coming to terms with your feelings; to stop running from them and just...feel them." Seras offered, reeling a little when he suddenly came closer, examining her like one might expect a hawk to look upon a sparrow. Holding her nerve, Seras shifted somewhat uncomfortably, but refused to back away. Her eyes avoided his- until the sudden movement of his head cocking to the side caught her attention, drawing her eyes to his too-close face, a blush immediately blooming across her face like a bed of ruby tulips in the spring. The way he held his head in that position was almost comical, but at the same time remined her entirely too much of the way a falcon cocked its head before pouncing on an unsuspecting vole. She swallowed her nerves as they remained in the awkward position for a few moments, resisting the urge to look into her Master's hypnotic gaze, despite the sense she had that he was looking into hers, searching for something.

"Feel them, huh?" He asked quietly, ponderously. "I'm afraid these walls have been up too long to be torn down that easily," He commented, head returning to right. "I'm no longer capable of simply 'feeling' something unless it's the thrill of adrenaline and surge of rage in my veins." Alucard stated, and Seras seen his eyes harden fractionally from her periphery. "This heart is old and tattered, Seras. Feeling isn't as simple as it used to be," He nearly sighed. " in that regard, you could say I do age as time goes by- not physically, but mentally and emotionally. " Seras felt her gaze reach out to his against her better judgment, seeing the sadness buried within them. She had a hunch he always wore his glasses, not as a measure of genuine necessity, but because so much could be found just by looking at his eyes. They were appropriately the most expressive part of him, and had told her more about her Master in the last seven years than his lips ever had- or probably ever would.

"Well, I think you're still kicking in there," Seras smiled at him reassuringly, pointing at his chest. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be fretting- or more appropriately _brooding_ about Integra's mortality predicament." Seras smirked almost coyly at him then. "You might not know it, but I think you really care about her." Seras grinned toothily at the nearly discomforted expression that appeared on her Master's long face, trying to change the atmosphere before it began to affect her. Her plan worked as he backed away from her fractionally, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"That may be true," He supplied, tone implying something, though _what,_ she could not begin to guess at. "However, that does not mean I am above killing her if I have to. The same goes for you in kind." Seras fought not to let her gaze fall further, for some reason having the desire to keep how much the thought affected her from her Master's mind. "I know. But I like to think its because you care so much about us that you'd be willing to do so. After all, they say murder is a crime of passion." Seras allowed herself a small smirk, but quickly lost it when her Master's hand fell gently on her cheek. She didn't bother to resist looking at his eyes this time, too curious for her own good about what his intentions were.

"A crime of passion, is it?" His trademark smile was in place, but it was somehow softer than other times she'd seen it. "Then I must be doing something right, by your logic."

"No, Master- you have to face feelings you don't normally." Seras corrected with a gentle smile. Her eyes widened when his thumb lightly caressed her face, lifting gently to make her meet his eyes, to which she blushed profusely.

"M-Master?" She asked awkwardly, confused. His smile softened further, and his eyes followed suit, making Seras even more confused. There was something hiding in his gaze, a want that she was sure she recognized but couldn't precisely name at the time.

"Master?" She repeated quietly, a mixture of anxiety and a nearly pleasant kind of anticipation fluttering in her stomach like a moth caught in a lamp. There was a moment that seemed to stretch out between them for what felt like hours, but which likely only lasted a second. Was this the effect looking into his eyes had? If so, Seras really couldn't say she minded. She caught a flicker of something reflecting in his irises, which, she noted, were actually two-toned, with a paler flame color circling his elliptical pupils, where they then washed outwards into a darker scarlet color, their rims nearly blood-colored. The effect was dramatic, and as the tiny, colored muscles contracted slightly, she seen a nearly metalic shimmer scatter rays of orange-ish light across his iris like the irridescent surface of a butterfly's wings. She'd never noticed before that his eyes did that in the light, she realised. But then, she'd never stared directly into them before either, having been warned more times than not that it was an ill-advised action. She could sort of see why now, she guessed, with how utterly captivating the color and irridescent sheen of them was.

Seras utterly froze when she registered his face coming closer, though by the time she did, it was too late to do anything about it. He hovered, just a few centimeters between them, his eyes suddenly asking a question. Seras didn't think about an answer, impulsively leaning closer until she felt something touch her lips gently. Her heart, which normally beat very, very slowly, now sped up to a nearly human pace- which was frighteningly fast for a vampire.

 _'This is so not the way I expected this to happen. Actually, I really wasn't expecting this to happen at all, but still- '_ So many questions flitted through her mind as the fact that they were connected at the lips slowly registered fully in her head. She didn't know when she'd closed her eyes, but became fast aware of that little fact when he pressed against her a bit more firmly, almost as if testing her response. All the thoughts and questions fled from her mind as she took in the tactile sensations. She responded with curiousity of her own, for the time willing to explore the possibilities that were spread before her. Sure, she'd not very well deny that the thought of kissing her Master _had_ crossed her mind before, just as a simple, _female,_ curiousity; but this was mostdefinitely _not_ the road she thought they'd be walking down tonight.

She pressed back curiously, encouraging him to return the gesture. They went back and forth like that, developing a slow rythm that Seras had to admit to herself was easy to get lost in. She'd kissed other boys, sure, and had lost her virginity in like- though she'd rather not think about that- but this was...new. Different. Those boys had been more or less strangers; people she knew, but not well. Alucard was different. She knew her Master. She _loved_ her Master. Maybe not like _that_ , at least not with any certainty- but then, she couldn't say she was sure of anything right then, her train of thought fast losing traction on its track as his hand suddenly slipped down her cheek, sliding over her neck before gracefully jumping to her waist, where his other hand had also situated itself. A small shiver rolled up her spine, though it's cause was beyond her at the moment, too lost in the sea of unexpected sensation and warmth. It was then that she realised with a jolt that might've actually made her jump had her Master not been holding her still, that his body was practically pressed against hers, save maybe a millimeter. Following through on another impulse, she pressed her body more firmly against his, a sudden desire to feel him out like that coming over her. _'Is this what seduction feels like? Damn.'_ She felt like she should know the answer, but her mind was foggy with something entirely unfamiliar to her, physically and emotionally; a sensation she could not quite place, but which was nice nonetheless.

She touched her fingers to his chest, slowly sliding them up to his neck before tenatively curling them into his hair, curious what it felt like. To her amazement, his hair was soft, softer than velvet even, and equally as thick. It tangled around her fingers like a glove, soft and strangely comforting. A sudden noise startled her so badly she _did_ jump, only to realise it was her Master, who elicited a small sound of what she could guess was approval of her actions. _'He likes having his hair messed with...never would have thought of that.'_ Seras mused. All her worry, all her anxiety, all of her doubt was gone for the moment, and she reveled in the repreive. This- whatever it was- it felt good, and good was a nice feeling to have when your demons were trying to drag you down; it worked like a light, shining them away into the shadows they belonged in, to places she should only have to dwell if she desired to do so. It never worked that way, she knew- once this light was gone, they'd be back, most likely with a vengeance, and she'd go back to worrying about her future. But right now, here, connected to another person whom she had uncertain feelings about- right now, there was a light to scare the dark away, to drown her in a single moment of relief where she didn't have to think, didn't have to do, didn't have to _anything._

Except that sooner or later, she had to stop.

Alucard placed shockingly gentle hands on her shoulders to push her back, breaking thier kiss with a sharp shock on Seras' part as to the reality of what had just transpired, her face instantly transforming into a vague visage of a tomato. Reality caught up with her too quickly as she stared a moment at her Master's red coat, lost in the color breifly while her train of thought found it's bearings- though where it had lost them, she could not say.

"Um...Can we not talk about this until we get home?" Seras practically squeaked, dire embarrassment making the red on her face spread to her neck, which she rubbed self-consciously. Her Master let out a low chuckle, and she dare not meet him in the face. _'Well, Seras, have you learned your lesson about looking into the eyes of the devil incarnate?'_ Seras could practically hear Integra's voice chastisize her. It was a self-criticism thing she did- for some reason the voice normally belonged to her Master's Master, though sometimes she did imagine Alucard's voice doing it, too. She had to sigh internally, mentally face-palming. Where the hell had _that_ come from- that whole thing they just did?

"If you wish it so, Draculina." Alucard chuckled, turning to walk past her. Seras was left in her thoughts before her Master's voice called her from them once more.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Uh, Yes, Sir!" Seras replied hastily, bounding to catch up with the man as they turned back for home. As promised, her demons came back with a vengeance, tantilizing her with this new development.

 _'What the bloody hell have I gotten myself into now?'_

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 **ALRIGHT! So excited to be writing this. This plot has been bothering me since I started Given, and it feels good to work it out!**

 **Okay, so remember to REVIEW for the next chapter! Keep the good vibes coming!**

 **Until then, Aufweidersehen!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh WOW the reviews just keep coming! GAH! Was SO not expecting this to take off so fast.**

 **In response to the repeated statement regarding the unexpectedness of the AluSeras moment (cool it, you're not in trouble):**

 **Seras wasn't expecting it either, and somehow I don't think Alucard was. (wink, wink) However, I would like to extrapolate upon an aspect of Seras' character here that I, at least, perceive in her, but which pretty much every other story (excepting a few from ten years ago) ignores or simply doesn't perceive as much:**

 **Impulsivity.**

 **I personally find Seras to be nearly as impulsive as her Master is sometimes, though for different reasons. This will be reflected upon later, though in hindsight I should have examined it before we got here.**

 **I really had a hard time deciding whether to include the kiss scene or just leave the suspenseful air of sexual tension- but again, Seras is to me a somewhat impulsive creature, and given her already confused feelings about the man in question, I figured a curveball was in order. Those who have read my other works know too well that I like to do that. (*AHem*, throwing-a-random-child-into-the-equation-randomly, *ahem* GIVEN *ahem*) (Or *GASP* Walter-is-GAY?! And-Alucard-is-a-homophobe? *ahem* WHISPERS *ahem*) As a few examples.**

 **Alright, let's see what Alucard was implying when he said "that may be true" last chappie in regards to his feelings about Integra. He really was thinking of something there. Let us see what, shall we?**

 **WARNINGS: ALU-TEGRA AHEAD! Probably the only major scene in here- that said, THIS IS RATED M FOR A REASON PEOPLE. If you don't like the ship...well, I can't really help you there. I'd say skip it, but it relates to the AluSeras ship too much. Read on dear followers and fans alike, read on.**

 **Coming into the chapter with another song by Starset that I feel describes his relationship with Hellsing in general as well as Integra. For the purposes of plot significance(setting the scene/atmosphere), I encourage at least skimming it. That and it's a really poetic song.**

 **That said, because I want the full impact to reach you folks, lets have a little vocabulary lesson for those that don't know what these words mean, especially as even I had to look up the first one- a very rare thing to happen to me most the time: (just being cautious about this in case you're floating in my boat)**

 _ **Atrophied**_ **: the past tense or state of the word "atrophy" which means to be dangrously thin or emaciated.**

 _ **Martyr:**_ **a person who is killed for their beliefs, religious or otherwise.**

 _ **Fodder:**_ **archaic (old fashioned) word for food, especially animal feedstuffs like hay or grains.**

 **And one you all probably know, but just in case:**

 _ **Cauterized:**_ **past tense; to have burned the flesh or skin where it is wounded, typically to halt bleeding. This can be done with heat or caustic chemicals.**

 **Now that that's out of the way-**

 **Let us go on, shall we?**

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 **CH III**

 **''''''''''''''''''''''**

 _ **Unbecoming**_

 _By Starset_

 _..._

 _I lost myself into the night,_

 _And I flew higher_

 _Than I had ever,_

 _But I still felt small;_

 _I clipped my wings and fell from flight,_

 _To open water,_

 _And floated farther away from myself;_

 _'''_

 _And I swam in the wakes of imposters,_

 _Just to feel what it's like to pretend,_

 _There's no dreams in the waves,_

 _Only Monsters,_

 _And the Monsters are my only friends-_

 _'''_

 _They're all that I was,_

 _And never could be-_

 _'''_

 _Eyes,_

 _In the dead still water,_

 _Tried,_

 _But it pushed back harder-_

 _Cauterized, and atrophied_

 _This is my Unbecoming-_

 _Knives_

 _In the backs of martyrs_

 _Lives_

 _In the burning fodder-_

 _Cauterized and atrophied,_

 _This is my Unbecoming..._

 _..._

 _You found me drifted out to sea,_

 _It's automatic,_

 _It's telepathic-_

 _You always knew me;_

 _And you laugh as I search for a harbor,_

 _As you point where your halo had been,_

 _But the light in your eyes has been squandered,_

 _There's no Angel in you in the end;_

 _'''_

 _And all that I was,_

 _I've left behind me-_

 _'''_

 _Eyes,_

 _In the dead still water,_

 _Tried,_

 _But it pushed back harder-_

 _Cauterized, and atrophied_

 _This is my Unbecoming-_

 _Knives_

 _In the backs of martyrs_

 _Lives_

 _In the burning fodder-_

 _Cauterized and atrophied,_

 _This is my Unbecoming..._

 _'''_

 _Now I wait,_

 _This metamorphosis-_

 _All that is left is the change;_

 _Selfish fate,_

 _I think you made me this-_

 _Under the water I wait..._

 _..._

 _Eyes,_

 _In the dead still water,_

 _Tried,_

 _But it pushed back harder-_

 _Cauterized, and atrophied_

 _This is my Unbecoming-_

 _Knives_

 _In the backs of martyrs_

 _Lives_

 _In the burning fodder-_

 _Cauterized and atrophied,_

 _This is my Unbecoming..._

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Integra Fairbrookes Wingates Hellsing.

The name was as much a title as a moniker. Her name defined her integrity- literally. The woman was admittedly a vain one, as she was meant to be; after all, she was a Knight, a noblewoman that also played the role of a nobleman. But there were things even she could swallow her pride for, as were her thoughts then; sometimes, it paid to be flexible. Flexible. What a strange word for her to think about, especially in regards to herself. Seras, now she was flexible, taking her vampiric developments as they came in her stride, learning to hunt and fight and lead all at once, while never once complaining that she was taking on too much, even when Integra could see that she was. She admired Seras, which she still found to be pretty remarkable considering her intitial thoughts about the girl.

When Alucard first brought Seras to her, a brand-new vampire, of course she'd been skeptical. This was the product of Alucard, after all- whatever had driven him to change her to the night, it couldn't have been good. The fact he did it on a whim, so he claimed, seemed to make that assumption concrete. But when the new Draculina had awoken, Integra had been more than pleasantly surprised by the softness and kindness of her personality, so polarly opposite of the man who had created her. But then, they did say opposites attracted, didn't they?

Perhaps that is why she felt at ease about them almost right from the get-go. Some part of her could intutively sense that they fit together better than the thoughts their image conjured might imply. The fact Seras adoringly referred to Alucard as her "Master", though a fitting moniker for him, given their actual relationship, did not help with some of the less pure of images the sight of them in public caused. The only reason she knew those thoughts existed in the minds of others was because she could admit to having her suspicions about them initially. After all, Seras was a very attractive woman- she had to huff at that thought. Yes, because Alucard needed _another_ bride to add to the tally. Still, even she could see- or sense- the bond they shared. She wasn't sure exactly what sort of relationship they had, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Especially considering-

Integra, alone in her room, felt a blush creep onto her cheeks involuntarily. She allowed it only because of her solitude, and still peered around the room as if expecting someone to be there to see it. Then again, her servant could literally show up out of nowhere now- she argued with herself that she had a reason to be aware. But then, her servant was precisely what had put her into this kind of vigilant situation in the first place, wasn't he? Her blush deepened. Yes, there were some things worth setting aside your pride for, as long as it meant you couldn't be turned into a vampire on your death bed.

She just hadn't been expecting _Alucard,_ of all people, to take up that responsibility.

Especially as _he_ was the one she was concerned about turning her. The fact he'd offered to become the reason she _couldn't_ be changed had shocked her. At first, she only thought him jesting, as he was apt to- but he had made it clear that he wasn't when he'd taken her waist that day and didn't let go for about two hours. She allowed the blush on her face to deepen in her privacy as she recalled the day tenatively.

She wasn't sure what had surprised her more about the encounter- the fact Alucard had seriously offered to be the antidote to his own poison, (or the possibility thereof) which demonstrated- dare she think it?- a sense of self-doubt in him that she'd never seen, as if he didn't fully trust himself not to change her at the last second on impulse. (which is why she'd intended on losing her virginity in the first place, though she'd honestly given up on the idea by the time Alucard had appeared with the express intention of making it happen...after all, she was an old woman now- who besides the scum of humanity would take her virginity this late in life? She'd just made the decision on a whim anyway...she hadn't really expected it to work out, especially not like _that_ ). Or was it the fact that she'd actually _agreed_ to it that surprised her more? With _Alucard_ \- with the monster that she had but a tenative control over, the creature responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, the very _vampire_ she feared would change her; _why_ had she said yes? She could have pushed him away then, said no, and she knew he would have obeyed. But that was just it, wasn't it? Maybe that's what had evoked her answer...The fact she knew, somehow, that he hadn't done it out of just lust. No, people like _him_ didn't do sex like _that_ unless there was some kind of meaning behind it.

Their encounter...it had been so much different from the way she'd expected. Alucard was a violent, sado-masochistic lunatic with a literal thirst for blood; he was impulsive, aggressive, moody and direct. He was also introverted, and liked to be alone much of the time. He was wickedly smart, though his pride sometimes overshadowed that and made him reckless, as much as Alucard could be called that. Alucard was many, many things; but a gentle, dedicated lover? That had not even registered as a possibility on her checklist. He'd promised to be gentle, and swore on his word not to bite her as they had entwined- the almost tender way he treated her not making her feel fragile and insulted as she felt she should have been, but instead making her feel _wanted_. It had been seduction at its finest attempt and possibly greatest truimph; after all, it's not like she just lied down and let him mount. That would have been too easy for the both of them and she knew it.

It had taken the better part of the first hour just to "convince" her to get anywhere near the bed, and another span of time that was probably a lot faster than it had seemed to coax her into relaxing enough to make it as painless as possible. Of course, losing your virginity after menopause was practically guaranteed to be painful, more so than for the bouncing twenty-somethings or younger who partook in such activities, but he had been strangely dedicated to making sure she felt as little pain as possible. The sudden flush of affection he'd donned on her still confused her even now, but Integra felt she could understand his motivations just a little, as ridiculous as they seemed. He had openly admitted to pitying her for not having lost it before, when she was more physically capable, but somehow she felt like he knew, as did she, that it was her last real shot at it. Moreover, there had been a sadness in the way he had held her that night, as though...

As though he had been trying to say goodbye.

A final farewell gift, that had been his purpose. To take responsibility for his mistakes before he even made them, and to apologise for all the ones he'd made before; to hold his honor high while respecting hers in the most intimate way he possibly could. There was no romance between them- there never had been, and there never would be- but the fact he loved her enough to restrain himself, to bring himself under scrutiny for her sake, to take the responsibility before the damage had even been done, and furthermore to actually, if inadvertedly, _apologise_ \- to do that, for her; it made her feel something. Something strong and difficult to place, a mixture of gratitude, remorse, sadness, and...pride. She was proud of him for doing that. It was a strange thing for her to feel proud of Alucard...But she did, for whatever reason, and that wasn't bad. The sheer enormity of what they'd done that night occaisionally weighed on her consciousness, but she prefered largely not to think of it. After all, it had been just a one time thing; a man trying to make up for his mistakes and fix the one's he hadn't even made yet all at the same time, in the only- and maybe best- way he knew how. (Words were, after all, not his forte). A man doing what she had never really expected Alucard to do- something she considered nearly _noble,_ if she could dare to call her servant that.

No, she argued with herself immediately- Alucard was, in retrospect, probably one of the most _noble_ people she had ever met, when one thought on it. A Noble Demon*, maybe, but by it's truest definition, that of someone who valiantly fought for their principles to aide the greater good, she could call him noble. He was certainly an honorable fellow, anyhow, one that stuck by his promises and who's word was as good as gold most of the time. (That's not to say he couldn't be a lying son of a bitch when he thought he could manipulate his way out of a situation, especially with her). If you could get Alucard to swear something on or for you, with his word, you could almost guarantee he would make good on it, be it a promise or a threat- though he seemed more fond of the latter most the time. That was one of the aspects of her servant she had always found charming as well as admirable; the fact that he was so much more _responsible_ than those who did not know him might assume, what with the seemingly haphazard way he did his job.

But Integra knew better than that. No, Alucard wasn't haphazard, either. Actually, though he was certainly a creature that delighted in chaos, he himself was surprisingly organized and methodical. Especially the latter. He just didn't express it the same way as everyone else did, as Seras had so pointed out to her one day within the span of her Master's absence. Integra smiled to herself in her room. Alucard hadn't figured it out yet, but she knew Seras had him wrapped around her finger already. How could she not- the girl had a gift for seeing through people, herself included. She could count on one hand the number of times she, Integra Hellsing, had cried in front of anyone, never mind on their shoulder. Yet somehow in the span of thirty years, Seras had witnessed _and_ been the shoulder of _two_ of these fingers, a fact that Integra still balked at even now. To say that she, a _Hellsing_ , had cried on the shoulder of a _vampire,_ _ **twice**_ \- why, it was unheard of! But then, _sleeping_ with a vampire was no worse, she supposed. At least _that,_ she was sure, was a one-time affair.

No, Alucard was methodical; he wouldn't have been able to seduce her if he wasn't. He was organized, in his own chaotic way, a sort of "I know where everything is precisely because it's a mess" type of ideology. Chaotic order, one might say. Integra allowed a soft, solitary laugh at this. That term decribed her servant perfectly- chaotic order. He was an indecisive whirlwind with an intense drive for mental stimulation, but was also quietly methodical and precise in his work, performing things much as she did in a sequence of most to least relevant to the situation at hand. However, unlike Alucard, who preferred to live in the moment more, and preferred to make logical or value judgements- whichever fit- on the spot, Integra had the additional responsibility of thinking ahead, of the future and of all the repurcussions of whatever actions she was ordering right then.

To say it hadn't taken a toll on her, mentally or physically, was an outright lie. She knew as well as her two supernatural servants did- and maybe it was partly because of them that she could sense it- that she was not going to make it much longer. She had collapsed yesterday because of her failing appetite. Her bones ached, and her heart was doing poorly, though the medics had decided wisely not to say that in front of Alucard. It was taking it's toll on her, and it broke her heart to keep it hidden from her loyal servants, her observant guard dogs. Of course, she knew _he_ knew it, somehow, that Alucard knew she was sick- but Seras remained in the dark, purposefully no less- and it wasn't even her decision.

Alucard had decided it was best, for whatever reason, to keep the relative truth he knew that they both knew from the young vampiress. To hide from her the fact Integra was sick- that, in all likelihood, she wouldn't last the year. The medics had argued with her, of course, saying she should get treated, that she needed therapy and medicine- but, of course, she had declined. Integra felt that if God made it so this was her year to go, then she would walk gladly into the arms of death that she had so narrowly been escaping from for her entire life. And if it meant she had to walk through the flames, to suffer the pain and misery, then she was fine with that.

Just as long as her servant was there to walk with her.

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 **I planned on making this longer, but this felt like a really good place to stop for now.**

 **Sorry for the super long A/N's- I don't normally talk quite this much, I swear. :3**

 **Now for the return of my favorite thing to write-**

 **ASTERISKS! (man, I really need to stop getting so exited about writing that...)**

 ***Noble Demon:** _A "Noble Demon" is actually a TV trope; it describes a character, like Alucard, who is dark and criminalistic but which still has a code of honour and a sense of justice. (even if their Moral Compass has flown the coop) Alexander Anderson is also a "Noble Demon" in this context. It might be argued that Maxwell was also like this up until he went crazy from his own power, at which point he changed into a more classical villain-type, though he still died believing in his principles. (He was, ironically, a martyr)_

 **Alright, don't forget to REVIEW for the next installment. Your comments are much appreciated!**

 **Until then, Aufweidersehen!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, I can honestly say I never thought this would get more demand than Given; but it has, and therefore is at the top of my priority list. However, I DO have obligations to other fics, so if I disappear from this for a bit in the next few weeks, it's because I have to write the infamously long chapters for my first story on this site (an Inuyasha fic) which I've neglected since before christmas, so I'm sure I have already lost the faith of my readers there. But you guys are as faithful as a zealot bishop, so far, so thank you so much!**

 **WARNINGS: Alrighty people, hold onto your britches (or skirts, if you prefer), because they're about to get nipped at the heel by Baskerville. Yes, it's time to see Alucard's views on this mess.**

 **And with that, a poem constructed by yours truly that I can't believe I never noticed went so well with Alucard as a character. I wrote the poem in 2015, in response to a request to write a riddle. The poem is in itself a riddle (kind of- it's a really complex one), but one I'll give you the answer to at the end of the chapter.**

 **No vocab for the poem, but I do use some archaic (that is, old-fashioned) and uncommon words below (after all, Alucard is an archaic individual/being) Ergo, I shall give the most uncommon here:**

 **Hegemonious: (HEH-JEH-MOW-NEE-US for those like me that have to double over the word to firgure out how to say the damn thing):** _The modified noun form of Hegemony, meaning "of leadership or dominance", especially of a social group or domination thereof. A hegemonious person is, therefore, dominant and has good standing in the social ranks. A term likenable to aristocracy, but with a dirtier tinge to it._

 **Taciturn:** _a person who does not say much or who is silent type._

 **Unfettered:** _In this context, uncontrolled and wild in a persons actions._

 **Altruistic:** _adjective: someone who is altrusitic (or something which is altrustic) is selfless and compassionate; unselfish and uninterested in their own wellbeing._

 **Moving onwards at N-ightspeed! (see what I did there?)**

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 **CH IV**

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 _ **Everywhere**_

 _By Yours Truly. :3 whose poetic penname is actually the answer to the riddle, so I shant write it._

 _'''_

 _In all the lights I live-_

 _I am seen and yet am hidden,_

 _And I hide things all my own._

 _I am everything and nothing,_

 _The reaction of action,_

 _The action of reaction,_

 _I am everywhere._

 _..._

 _I am even nowhere,_

 _In the mind, in the heart,_

 _Thrown, but never caught,_

 _Feeling with no feeling_

 _Every breath you ever took._

 _..._

 _Without me, you are lost;_

 _Find me, and you are even more so-_

 _You see me where you do not want me,_

 _But want me where you do not see me;_

 _Follow me, you are demur, insane-_

 _But try to avoid me,_

 _And your luck is out,_

 _For I am everywhere._

 _..._

 _I am always somewhere;_

 _Transcending time, I hide inside the clock,_

 _Silent between the_ _ **tick**_ _and the_ _ **tock**_ _-_

 _I am forever timeless._

 _My age can not be scored in numbers,_

 _My origin is everywhere,_

 _And nowhere just the same._

 _The Darkness touches where I may not,_

 _Somewhere far beyond the clock,_

 _Where there are no_ _ **tick**_ _and no_ _ **tock**_ _._

 _..._

 _I am everywhere,_

 _In dreams of worldly pleasure,_

 _In nightmares of vast terror,_

 _Seen in places I could never be-_

 _A phantom does this make of me?_

 _Or they of me- seen yet never seen?_

 _..._

 _I am nowhere,_

 _Trapped in time but always moving,_

 _For without me nothing would move._

 _I am everywhere, even here-_

 _-Here where nowhere begins._

 _''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''_

Alucard knew. He knew his Master was sick.

He could hear it, in the rapid, rabbit-like pace of her heart. He could smell it in her blood, in her sweat- all over her body. He could sense it, how her energy fluctuated sometimes on her worse days; he could feel it through the seals as their strength faltered from time to time. But there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it- not only would Integra not let him, but he had gone and damned himself helpless by taking from her the one thing that would allow her to continue living- as much as you could call what he had life. But as much as the idea of a vampiric Integra appealed to him at times, he knew it was just his battered heart trying to talk him into being the selfish bastard he usually was with these things.

But she deserved better than that.

Or else he would not have dedicated so much of his limited patience into their fornication that one time. True to form, he was not much fancied to take a gentle lover excepting the few times he thought he had found a good reason to. He could count, if he tried, the number of "wives" he had had. But Integra was about as far from his wife as a woman he actually respected could be. She was his Master- his leash and handler, his source of guidance when he didn't know what else to do with himself. After all, it was one thing to kill for pleasure- it was another to kill with no reason. He _needed_ that reason, he felt, and Integra had supplied it, moreso than any other ancestor before her. He respected her for that.

It could be argued that he loved her, as Seras had tried to argue, but he still was unsure of that. It had been so long since he could say he loved anyone that perhaps Seras had been right, as she usually was about these things, he noted with a mental huff, and maybe he just couldn't recognize the feeling anymore. He certainly felt affection and protection for his Master and he - and he alone- knew the depths of the respect he held her in. If that made love, then he supposed he could say that he did love her.

Thinking of which, what had that moment come from with Seras the other night? He had fully intended on explaining Integra's illness and forewarning her of her roles yet to come, but somewhere between the manor gate and the edge of town had lost his resolve to do so. Seras had been upset enough, he argued with himself, she didn't need the extra pressure, or she would crack- but when had he begun to care about that? Why did her tears bother him so much? The thought crawled under his skin like maggots, making him agitated. Why _did_ he care? Why _should_ he care?

Because, he answered himself, you've put the girl through enough. You effectively, though unintentionally, abandoned her to a world she was still struggling to understand, a universe in which she was then entirely alone, with no one to turn to, and no one to walk beside her. Alucard could not say he was a man with a remorseful disposition, but he did somewhat regret not being able to be there to witness her growth. He himself had been completely alone right from the start, and had to figure out for himself how to be a vampire- so he knew all at once the pain and lonliness Seras had faced, as well as the fact that she had pulled through it beyond his expectations, which meant to him that she was more than deserving to walk beside him now that he had come back home.

Home. It was such a strange word for him to think about. Hellsing was his prison, after all, a place where he truly had very little freedom and almost no liberty to _say_ never mind _do_ as he pleased. Yet there was something here, in his private hell, that he'd never had back at the castle in Romania. Something he could not place, exactly, but which he felt had been missing for a very long time. There was a calmness here, he thought, breathing in the smells of his room. There was a tranquility to his solitude, and a orderly kind of peace, especially with Integra, that seemed to balance out his chaotic nature. It kept him calmer, and made him feel...strangely at-ease, even when one considered he lived in the dungeon/basement, was treated like the tool he was, and was hated by nearly everyone that lived there.

But hatred was nothing knew to him. Correction- _being_ hated, that was nothing new. Before he had come under Van Hellsing, his subjects had hated him. They still probably did, considering how many of them he had - intentionally or otherwise- put to death; his wives had hated him in one way or the next for his offish, taciturn, rougish and callous personality traits(either that or they loved him a little too much for it, which eventually became hatred once he became anything else) even as a human count, his subjects had hated his bloodthristy and conquerous nature- greedy, unfettered, indominable, and hegemonious in his control over everything and everyone.

Well, everyone except himself.

That's where Integra had done what no one else, even Van Hellsing , had really done. _She_ controlled him. _She_ made him obey, and she made him _respect_ her so that he could never really have any qualms about doing so. _That_ is where she was unique. That is where she was lovable. That is where he knew, deep down, he would miss her from.

Thinking of the unique- what the bloody hell had happened the other night with Seras? He couldn't say he had any complaints about kissing her, but it hadn't originally been in his plans to do so. He supposed it was, inadvertently, his fault, since he'd taunted her; he'd gotten that close to her in an attempt to amuse himself by ruffling her feathers. And it had worked- except that, as much as he knew she'd been bewitched, _unintentional_ as that had been, he really wasn't expecting _her_ to kiss _him_ \- at least, not quite like that. Seras was an impulsive creature when she wanted to be, he knew- but to think that she desired him in any way akin to _that_ was a thought he did not frequently dwell upon, even if he knew it was there- elsewise that occurance would not have happened. Now, however, he was rather forced to dwell upon those thoughts, for the action she had done, that of moving _before_ him, said something about it that quite puzzled him.

He knew, of course, the kind of appeal he had. He wouldn't _possibly_ wish to sound vain about it, but he knew that, hypnosis be damned, he could probably convince most women to bed him if he truly desired to do so. Seras was absolutely no exception to this, of course, and quite obviously neither was Integra- but he hadn't really been trying to entice her, per say, that night; rather, he'd been aiming to make her uncomfortable, to see her flinch, to cringe, to back away, anything that stroked his power-hungry ego. But she had surprised him somewhat, with her incentive. True, he had rather decided whimsically to give in to her desire, to prompt it forth once he realised it was there, but he hadn't expected her to actually _take_ his bait. To make the move forward that sealed them together at the mouth.

Kissing had never really struck Alucard as especially significant; after all, it was just flesh pressing onto flesh. That said, however, he still had a somewhat complicated understanding of what it meant to other people, and so could not help but partially hold it in the same regard. For instance, he had kissed Integra during their night together, deeply, and with a passion that seemed, at the time, to explain in action all the feelings he had no words for right then. In that instance, their kiss had meant something, not only to her, but to him as well. With Seras, though...it was different.

Alucard felt torn about the matter, a thought that irked him. On one hand, he could just ignore the incident, as he was most inclined to, believing it to be just a one time impulse. But unfortunately, he knew his Fledgling better than that. Even if he chose to play it off as nothing, he knew _she_ wouldn't. No, things like this meant something else to her than it did to him, he had to remind himself; she would not be half as "forgetful" or as ill-inclined to discuss the matter as he was, and with a sense akin to dread he realised that she would probably goad him somehow into trying to explain the reason behind something that had no real reason behind it. After all, it was _her_ who made the move, not him.

He felt more significantly torn, however, over the decision that rested now in the delicate balances of his fledgling's mood. He knew he would have to tell Seras about Integra's impeding sickness eventually- if she found out before he told her, he'd never hear the end of it. That said, she was going to most likely blow up over the fact he hadn't told her before anyway, asking him in that annoyingly whiny voice all the "why"'s and the "how could you"'s . He was being dramatic, he chastisized himself; Seras might whine, but she didn't do it quite like that (even if it still sounded the same to him). Still, he knew she would probably take thier unintentionall lip-lock and turn it into something it wasn't, because that's just what Seras did. And he knew he'd get fed up with her whining or her waterworks, whichever it came to, and make her even more angry at him. Such was how it typically went when things like this happened.

But then, Seras could be a very surprising creature, often when he least expected it. He couldn't shake the hunch that she would still turn their kiss into something it wasn't, because he knew her that well, at least; but her reaction to Integra's news might be different than how he imagined it. She might very well simply shrink and absolve, as he had seen her do during some of their minor disputes (most of which came down upon his Moral Compass, or lack thereof) becoming still and withdrawn as she tried not to agrivate him any further. Or she might become loud in the quiet kind of way only she could manage, the way that told him she was so angry she couldn't bring herself to argue. (He'd never made her this angry personally, but had bore witness to it; he had wisely stayed out of her way then, and knew if it came to that that he was probably better off leaving her alone to sort out the rest for herself). Or she might already have a sense for it, and be unsurprised, if sad, about the news. He never knew with her.

And that was part of her immense charm to him.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

 **Okay, let me say that these are the shortest chapters I have ever written. But I think they do their job nicely.**

 **I try to write character-centered chapters like this in the way I imagine they would think; for Alucard, that means lots of circling. I imagine with a mind like his that he is prone to distraction and likes to let his mind wander a ways before bringing it back over the subject he originally intended on thinking about. My reasons for this are simple; He may not seem like it, but Alucard (and arguably Vlad Tepes by default) is a literal genius, based on the way he acts and goes about things. He's certainly highly intelligent, and intelligent minds, especially ones that can grasp complicated things like music and poetry (this is demonstrated in the anime, and to me just feels like something he'd be good at) tend to wander. That said, I'm sorry if the style was confusing. :3**

 **Remember to REVIEW for the next installment. Until then-**

 **Aufweidersehen!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alrighty, onto the next chapter of our little adventure. Or rather, Seras' little adventure.**

 **OMG I FORGOT TO GIVE YOU THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE, I'M SORRY!**

 **The answer is (drum roll, please):**

 **A** _ **Shadow.**_

 **My** _ **poetic penname**_ **is, in fact, Shadow; (it's rather a long story as to why that is.) But to explain the riddle a little more because, as promised, it is complicated:**

 **The reason it's a shadow is because, when you think about it, you can't really get away from them. Even in outer space (the "darkness") there are shadows cast by starlight and other suns upon asteroids, satellites, planets, etc. Actually, there was a psych test done where artists removed the shadows from "moving" three dimensional objects; turns out, your brain REALLY doesn't like this. Once you remove the shadow, you can no longer tell which way the object is moving, and besides which your brain goes "** _ **Now wait just a minute**_ **-" for things, especially those with an obvious light source, should logically have shadows; ergo, when they don't, your brain gets horribly confused. Therefore, when there is no shadow, your brain wants to supply one, and when there are too many shadows (as when it is dark in your room) you get anxious and want them to receed.**

 **That said, there's another phenomena to make my riddle make a bit more sense; they're called "white shadows", and are effectively shadows within shadows; the shadow you see across your dark room, the silhouette of trees in the dark, these are all "white shadows"; however, as our eyes are not well equipped for night vision, we sometimes see shadows that aren't really there. (Or** _ **are**_ **they?) These are also sometimes called white shadows, sometimes called "phantom shadows" for they inspire the fear of ghosts (provided they aren't ones themselves...which I personally have doubts about sometimes) especially when they appear to move. (It's a freaky experience, I tell you; Sitting in your dark room,** _ **alone,**_ **and suddenly "seeing" something** _ **move**_ **from your periphery, especially someplace movement shouldn't logically be happening; it's downright scary, I tell you!)**

 **Going on with things:**

 **The song posted here is actually from an Arcade Video Game, apparently, though I haven't played it; For the purposes of giving her some well-deserved fame, I shall say I personally favor Lizz Robinette's cover of this song, which is utterly beautiful. That said, I heard the song and thought of Alucard; This would, by the by, be a song I do recommend reading/skimming, because it is both highlighting of Alucard's character and foreshadowing of things to come. That said, it is kind of long, so be aware of that.**

 **Thank you.**

 **ONWARDS!**

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 **CH V**

 **''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''**

 _ **Bad Apple (Touhou)**_

 _ **Original English version by Christina Vee**_

 _ **Cover versioin by Lizz Robinette(YouTube)**_

 _ **'''**_

 _Ever on and on, I continue circling_

 _With nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony_

 _'Till slowly I forget, and my heart starts vanishing_

 _And suddenly I see that I can't break free-_

 _I'm slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity_

 _With nothing but my pain and the paralyzing agony_

 _To tell me who I am - who I was;_

 _Uncertainty enveloping my mind 'till I can't break free, and_

 _'''_

 _Maybe it's a dream, maybe nothing else is real,_

 _But it wouldn't mean a thing if I told you how I feel,_

 _So I'm tired of all the pain, of the misery inside,_

 _And I wish that I could live, feeling nothing but the night;_

 _You can tell me what to say, you can tell me where to go,_

 _But I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know._

 _If I make another move, there'll be no more turning back,_

 _Because everything will change and it all will fade to black-_

 _'''_

 _Will tomorrow ever come? Will I make it through the night?_

 _Will there ever be a place for the broken in the light?_

 _Am I hurting? Am I sad?_

 _Should I stay, or should I go?_

 _I've forgotten how to tell- did I ever even know?_

 _Can I take another step? I've done everything I can-_

 _All the people that I see,_

 _I will never understand;_

 _If I find a way to change, if I step into the light,_

 _Then I'll never be the same,_

 _And it all will fade to white..._

 _..._

 _Ever on and on, I continue circling_

 _With nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony_

 _'Till slowly I forget, and my heart starts vanishing_

 _And suddenly I see that I can't break free-_

 _I'm slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity_

 _With nothing but my pain and the paralyzing agony_

 _To tell me who I am - who I was;_

 _Uncertainty enveloping my mind 'till I can't break free, and_

 _'''_

 _Maybe it's a dream, maybe nothing else is real,_

 _But it wouldn't mean a thing if I told you how I feel,_

 _So I'm tired of all the pain, of the misery inside,_

 _And I wish that I could live, feeling nothing but the night;_

 _You can tell me what to say, you can tell me where to go,_

 _But I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know._

 _If I make another move, there'll be no more turning back,_

 _Because everything will change and it all will fade to black-_

 _'''_

 _If I make another move, if I take another step,_

 _Then it all would fall apart- there'd be nothing of me left;_

 _If I'm crying in the wind, if I'm crying in the night,_

 _Will there ever be a way? Will my heart return to white?_

 _Can you tell me who you are?_

 _Can you tell me where I am?_

 _I've forgotten how to see- I've forgotten if I can;_

 _If I opened up my eyes, there'd be no more going back,_

 _'Cause I'd throw it all away, and it all would fade to black..._

 _'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''_

Seras walked up and down the hall again, fretful as ever. Her mind was all over the place, sweeping from one thought to the next without a moments hesitation. It was all confusing for her; first, she'd been called away by her Master in order to "talk" and then for reasons she didn't fully understand yet, she'd kissed said Master. Okay, that she could sort of live with for the time being- they'd have time to talk about it later. But now, standing outside of Integra's door after being rather rudely intercepted from going in there by her subordinate, she was more confused than ever. It hadn't lasted long, barely a heartbeat (a human one, that is) but as the door opened, and her subordinate rushed past her in a flurry of erratic movement, stating his business was urgent, she'd caught wind of something.

Integra hardly ever came out of her room since her fainting incident- Seras rather assumed that that had been because of the medical team. Now, however, she was both confused, anxious and doubtful all at once; she hadn't been around very many people afflicted with something like that, but she knew by the smell; by the whiff of rank air that had hit her nose as her subordinate had rushedly closed the door- she knew.

Integra Hellsing was not well.

And she was, in all likelihood, dying.

The revelation was one Seras had her doubts about of course- it was only a whiff, after all. But she could not, try as she may, shake this horrible, clawing feeling in her chest, as of something were making to tear through her from the inside, nor could she deny the uncomfortable waves of nausea and the tight, rock-like feeling in the upper part of her stomach which told her that there was something horribly wrong about all of this. She knew it, she told herself, she knew she'd sensed something when Integra had collapsed- but this? She could always ask Alucard about it- but she knew how that would go, which is precisely what was tearing her up inside right now.

Alucard had to know. How could he not? He'd been in there with Integra more often than she, and Seras had had a sneaking suspicion had been trying to keep his Master away from Seras- in hindsight, probably to keep her from finding out. But why would he hide something like that? Seras struggled with this particular thought, this one simple question: _why?_

She supposed that she could understand his intentions, at least a little; she'd admit to herself, if no one else, that she was an emotional creature that often cared much too deeply about people, who's roots often anchored themselves seemingly within the very souls of others, so that even if they left, they always tore off a piece of her to take with them, a shred of herself that she could not let go of otherwise; a lingering sense of loyalty that she could do hardly as much as put aside, never mind outright abandoning them - even if _they_ abandoned _her._

That said, she didn't forgive easily; she was a creature of strong memory, as much as even her own Master considered her a ditz sometimes. She knew Alucard well enough to know that he did not like being A) indebted to someone, or B) being seen as untrustworthy. As much as he could lie and cheat to get his way, he always did so with a sense of integrity. He disliked feeling discredited, or like his people, including her, couldn't trust him. Having thought that, why would he hide something this big from her? Surely he had to know how she'd react once she found out?

 _'Hold on there, Seras.'_ She told herself. She was getting ahead of herself- if Alucard was hiding this from her, he probably had a good reason. After all, this was _Alucard_ \- Mr. No- Nonsense, say-what-you-have-to-say-or-shut-the-hell-up, and Don't-bother-beating-around-the-bush-because-I-have-no-patience-for-your-stupidity, Alucard. He lied, yes, and he certainly wasn't above being cheap or underhanded, and most certainly had a reputation for being quite cruel- but he was only like that whenever the situation demanded it (even if she sometimes disagreed). He wouldn't have done this just to be mean to her, she knew. No, he'd had a good reason for keeping Integra's sickness a secret from her. She just didn't know it yet.

And in the interests of preserving the peace, for now, anyway, she would stay quiet about what she knew she wasn't supposed to know.

Besides which, there was something going on inside Integra's room. Subordinates weren't allowed to enter her chambers except under dire circumstances, so the fact her own had effectively barged in there with hardly more than a word to explain himself seemed odd to Seras. To be frank, it was somewhat alarming.

"Seras."

Her Master's voice appearing behind her so suddenly startled her so badly that she whirled on him with half a mind to claw his eyes out, whoever it may be; but upon recognizing her Master's red coat, she halted, mid-reel for the strike. She let out _whooshing_ breath as she fought to still the frantic beating of her startled heart.

"M-Master!" She cried, half in alarm and half in relief, silently hoping he didn't peer into her head anytime soon.

"It appears there is an intruder at the gate. The soldiers don't know what to make of him, however- he says he is peaceful." Alucard explained with an obvious note of suspicion in his voice. "Apparently, he came here to talk, or so I can gather. I really wasn't paying that much attention to be frank- there were other things preoccupying my mind." He gave her a look as he said this, one that made her anxiety spike and her throat instantly run dry.

"Master-"

"We'll discuss it later. For now, we have business to attend to." He said with a note of finality, turning and walking past her into Integra's chamber's, phasing through the wall. Seras hesitated a moment, wondering if she should follow, but decided that if she was going to have to confront Alucard about one thing or the next, that she may as well follow him to hear what Integra had to say.

Doing this, she realised with a sharp pain in her chest that her nose had not been decieving her- the smell was all over the room now. As Seras took in the sight of the figurehead sitting up in her bed, cigar in hand, she noticed that there was a dull stain on her bedsheet, and a particularly rank smell, though it was old. She'd been throwing up, Seras concluded sadly. And if she had to guess, she hadn't been throwing up much of anything productive; the smell alone said as much for that.

"Seras!" Integra cried in alarm upon seeing her enter the room. Alucard also turned to look at her with a surprised expression, as if he hadn't been expecting her to follow him. _'Well, that rather eliminates the theory that he was eavesdropping on my thoughts earlier...but then, what was that look for?'_

"I think you forget sometimes, Master, that I can phase through walls too." Seras said meekly, offering a smile. Alucard's eyes changed then, a nearly- dare she call it so- _guilty_ look coming into them. He went to say something, but thought better of it.

"It's alright, Master- we can talk later." Seras said, giving her Master a reassuring smile. "And no, I'm not upset you hid it from me. Kind of glad, in a funny sort of way." Integra gave Seras a remorseful look for a moment before her expression sobered and she turned to Seras' subordinate, who was regarding Alucard warily, but expectantly.

"You said this vampire at the gate- he came here to negotiate? Did he say what?" Integra demanded. Still the man, going by the name of Jean Morel, did not acknowledge her, instead keeping his gaze pinned on Alucard. If Seras didn't know the spunky redheaded teen, she'd of thought he was scared of her Master- but Jean wasn't afraid of much, despite his otherwise sweet disposition, though Seras could recall that Alucard had stated a time or two something about not liking the kid for one reason or the next.

"Actually," Jean said thoughtfully, subtle welsh accent coming through. "He said some'in about wanting an audience with _you."_ Jean said, pointing at Alucard. This caused all brows in the room, saving his own, to rise, some with curiousity, some with astonishment.

"He wanted an audience with Alucard? Whatever for?" Integra questioned.

Just then, the phone on Integra's nightstand began to ring. She hastily picked it up, offering a short, sharp "Hello?" before listening to the other end with a frown. Her expression then quickly changed to shock, hand tightening on the phone. Before Seras could even ask what happened, she slammed the phone back onto its receiver, fingers pinching her brow.

"He's made it into the mansion." Integra stated flatly before looking at her servant pointedly. "Go find out what he wants, and if he does anything funny- you know what to do." She then looked at Seras. "You go too. Even if Alucard can handle this himself, it's good to show them we are armed at the teeth." Just then, the phone rang _again._

"Hello?" Integra growled into the end. Once more her brows shot up in surprise, and Seras could hear a man on the other side yelling something frantically.

"Alright, calm down. They haven't made any moves yet. I'm sending Alucard and Seras downstairs to deal- what?!" Integra balked at something on the other end, slowly letting the phone fall from her ear.

"Sir?" Seras asked worriedly. Suddenly, Alucard's head snapped toward the door, alert expression on his face. Seras followed in kind, sensing the aura of another vampire on the other side of the door.

"It would seem he couldn't wait, and decided to come to you, Alucard." Integra said with a bitter smile. It fell, however, and for the umteenth time that day her brows nearly touched her forehead when a soft rapping came from the door.

"Enter." Integra said flatly. Seras was on alert, prepared to fight whoever came through that door. She was without her weapons at present, but she knew well enough that she could make do with her fists if nothing else.

The door opened slowly, cautiously, and upon swinging open fully revealed a tallish man wearing a long black trenchcoat with gold buttons and clasps over the chest. His hair was long, black and wavy almost to the point of being curly, and was pulled into a somewhat high tail at the back of his skull- but what rather surprised Seras about him was the color of his skin; it was the color of dark caramel with just a tint of red in it. She was so used to seeing very pale vampires, that she rather forgot that other people of other skin colors could be vampires just as easily as a caucasian. The thought embarrassed her, making her blush just a tiny bit from her own stupidity as she mentally face-palmed.

"Hello," The man said in a thick accent. He raised his hands placatingly, and that's when Seras seen that there was another person- or rather, vampire- with him. She was short, like Seras, with long strawberry blonde hair and freckles everywhere on her childish face, with large, long-lashed eyes that were a pale, brilliant scarlet color to match her wool coat, which was lined with some kind of fur. She rather looked like a diva, Seras noted, except for the way she glanced around suspiciously and kept very close to the other vampire, darting behind him when she accidentally made eye contact with Seras. Her behavior alone told Seras that they likely weren't dangerous, but she kept her guard up just in case.

"We mean no harm." The man said, and Seras noted that his lashes were very long for a boy, and that he had a goatee hanging from his chin, though it practically disappeared into the black of the coat, which had a rather high collar. His eyes, like his skin, were a very different color red than she was used to seeing, a nearly maroon color that complimented his dark skin quite nicely, if she had to say so.

"Who are you, and why have you the audacity to barge into my home as you are?" Integra demanded, standing up from the bed and coming to stand beside Seras, her posture commanding despite the fact she hadn't changed out of bedclothes.

"Please, allow me," He said, and Seras felt a tug from her subconsious telling her she should know what accent he was speaking in. It sounded very familiar to her- something with a distinctly spanish dialect, but not quite. He brought his brown-gloved hand across his abdomen before bowing at the waist formally. "My name is Lukas. And this is Amandine, my wife." He stepped aside lightly as he straightened up, indicating to the short woman behind him, who glanced at Integra worriedly before muttering something to Lukas that was in a decidedly different language, again one Seras felt compelled to recognize.

"What did she say?" Integra said almost accusingly. Lukas turned to her with a meek expression, again holding up his hands in a placating fashion. "Ah, you see, my wife does not speak very good English, so I am afraid if she has anything to say, I will have to translate. That said, she is...a bit trepidatious, shall we say, of coming here, and with good cause too, I imagine." Seras had an "aha!" moment then, realising where she'd heard his accent before.

"Um...excuse me, but can I ask you a question?" Seras asked shyly. He turned his gaze to her, a softness in his eyes that she really hadn't been expecting. "Yes, Milady?" Seras blushed slightly at the honorific, but paid it no mind for now.

"Um...are you...are you from Romania?" Seras asked curiously. Lukas smiled lightly, and Seras noted that there was something off about the expression, as if he were trying to conceal his teeth as much as possible. Likely a habit bourne from being around humans, Seras thought.

"Yes. I am Lukas Balthioul*, a vampire noble in the council of Romania's Vampire Court. It is a pleasure to finally meet you face to face, Lord Alucard." Lukas knelt then, bowing lowly. His wife quickly followed suit, keeping her head noticably lower in a submissive gesture. A gesture Seras somehow knew, by some strange instinct, was meant to place herself below the ranks of both her husband and Alucard.

"The Vampire Court?" Integra asked, stealing Seras' next question. Alucard began to laugh quietly behind them both, a strange grin on his face.

"I knew you would come back to find me someday." Alucard said, again laughing. Lukas seemed to take this as a measure of good humor, smiling. "Well, you have been gone for a very long time, my Lord. It has been far too long, as it were."

"Is that why you are here? To retreive me? How did you even know where I was, anyhow?" Alucard lost his grin, though he still smirked with obvious amusement.

"Ah, that is actually a tricky answer. It took me the better part of three weeks to find your exact location, but with the help of the local vampires, it wasn't too much trouble. Of course, I knew you were in England long before that, as do most of the Council members. Key word there being 'most'." Lukas said, smirking at Alucard. "Have no fear; Arvin does not know where you are. The remaining Council decided it was better if he did not know of your whereabouts, considering the man he's become."

Alucard huffed at this. "I rather figured he would try to take over my position. Nevermind, though- why are you here?" Alucard said, returning to his all-business frame of mind. Lukas took a breath, and sighed at length.

"We are here, your humble Majesty, to ask for your assistance- and mayhaps that of the organization you serve."

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 **Okay, that was fun, right? A little too predictable for my liking, but I'm doing this on just a few hours of sleep.**

 **Alright, and back to my favorite thing to annoy you with-**

 **Yup, it's ASTERISK time!**

 ***Balthioul:** _Pronounced BAL-THEE-OOL in hebrew, but in Romanian is likely pronounced BAL-TEE-OOL (no "th" sounds in that language that I am aware). I was going to leave this ambiguous, but it's symbolic, so I shall digress: Balthioul is the name of an Angel (yes, ironic, I know) who is known to purge and sooth distress caused by all nature of calamities. You shall see how this fits into Lukas' character next chapter._

 **'Righty people, remember to REVIEW for the next chappie! :3**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok peoples, let's make this breif, since I ACTUALLY know precisely where I am going this time.**

 **WARNINGS: This has some religious stuff in it- If it makes me uncomfortable to write, it's bound to make someone else uncomfortable to read. However, it is a recurring theme in here, so for future reference, take heed.**

 **Also, I would like to note/disclaim something here: Lukas and Amandine (that is an actual name, by the by) as well as their entire thing going on below was inspired by the anime Dance in the Vampire Bund; you can choose to see it as a crossover element, or you can just take it as creative liscencing with a very intriguing idea. Take it as you will, I will give credit to the creator of than anime for inspiring me.**

 **Now, onward!**

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 **CH VI**

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"We are here, your humble Majesty, to ask for your assistance- and mayhaps that of the organization you serve." Lukas said, remaining bowed. Integra quirked a brow at him quizically, but with genuine curiousity.

"Explain." She demanded simply.

"You see, my wife and I come from a small village in Romania, where we have decided to settle for the time. Our village is a peaceful one- or it was." Lukas said with a frown, looking up at Alucard. "Recently, two strangers came into our midsts. Our people are against hostility, and are welcoming of those passing through- but it may be that these vampires did not choose to pass on along." Lukas' frown deepened as his eyes glazed over with thought. "There have been a rising number of incidents lately- everything from the local police finding corpses that have obviously been drained of blood, to newly turned vampires- though, oddly, no Ghouls." Lukas explained. His face became grave then. "However, this, we can handle by ourselves, being as a number of vampire noblemen live in the village. But these vampires have committed an even greater sin that even the King is not forgiving of, to my knowledge." He looked again at Alucard.

"And what is this 'sin' you speak of?" Alucard inquired curiously.

" _Copii de naopte._ " Lukas' wife, Amandine, said softly, gravely. Integra and Seras gave her a non-understanding stare, turning to both Lukas and Alucard for translation. But Seras paused on her way to ask what she'd said when she seen a look in her Master's eyes she'd never seen. It was surprised, but underneath it was something unfamiliar. It looked like dread, almost, but was subtler than that.

"And that would be?" Integra asked after a moment, impatient to get this done and go to bed as she had planned before this whole incident began.

"Ah, forgive me," Lukas said, bowing apologentically. "They are, in translation, Night Children; but the term has a very different meaning to us."

"Night Children are vampires bourne from human children," Alucard picked up the explaination smoothly, though there was still that something hiding in his eyes and, now, his voice. "They are outlawed, per my decree and every other King's before I. Any vampire known to have created one is immediately sentanced to death-"

"As is the child they turned." Lukas finished, glancing warily at Alucard as if to see if cutting him off would have any repurcussions, but Alucard seemed unaffected.

"Yes. So, there's a monster in your village, turning human children to the night? Is that what you came here for?" Alucard asked, and Seras didn't miss it this time- there was a melancholic note in his timbre voice, though he hid it well enough that she was probably the only one to notice.

"Yes. We have tried to track down the 'monster' as you say, but he- or they, since we can't be sure it is just one- cover their tracks very well. Even as old as I am, I can not follow them. They leave the Children they create haphazardly; there is no pattern to their behavior that we can tell, which is why we suspect there is more than one doing the turning. Of course, we would ask the Children who created them, and have tried this- but you know better than I do, likely, the futility of trying to reason with something that is too frightened to understand reason." Lukas said this sadly, eyes falling. "That is why the law is in place, after all- children make very poor vampires, as a rule. The process is very frightening and confusing for them, and many do not have the impulse control to restrain themselves from taking what they want, by force if necessary- you see the issue." He seemed to be speaking to Seras then, but also kept looking over at Integra.

True to form, Seras felt torn about the matter. She couldn't argue Lukas' logic, having never met a Night Child, but that didn't mean she was all that comfortable with the idea of killing children- especially since they didn't know any better.

"But...they're still innocent, right?" Seras offered quietly. Lukas spared her a pitying glance, as did his wife.

"Yes. That is why those who turn them are put to death as well. It isn't fair, to do that to a child who knows no better. But it is generally more humane to put them down once they are found; after all, once they are turned, their bodies freeze as if preserved in ice- they can never get any older, any larger, and as much as you may not believe it fully - though our King is rather known for it," Lukas said, offering Alucard a slight smile. "There are vampires out there- we call them _devoratori,_ or 'devourers' - who purposefully feed on the blood of other vampires. As you might asume, the weak and small are usually favorite prey of these creatures. No one is quite sure what allows them to feed on their own kind without biological repurcussions, but they can, and they do." He eyed Seras for a moment, an unnamable expression on his face.

"I suppose I should introduce you, Seras." Alucard said, noticing the look. "This is my Childe, Seras Victoria. And before you ask, yes, she will, with any luck, be succeeding me." Seras looked to her Master sharply then, still not quite used to that reality. She looked back to Lukas, finding him once more smiling in the strangely restrained way he was before. "Ah, I see- so we now have a _printessa._ How interesting." Lukas glanced at Alucard, asking permission to rise. Some invisible cue then must have passed between them, for Lukas slowly rose to his feet, again looking to Alucard imploringly.

"May I greet the Lady?" He asked politely, gesturing to Seras with an open palm, head ducked in a submissive way.

"If it should please her, I don't see why not." Alucard grinned in a nearly sardonic way as he said this, and though he did not look to her, Seras could tell it was meant for her. _'Why that little-'_ Seras' thought was rather abruptly interrupted, though, when she caught the sight of Lukas kneeling in front of her from her periphery. She, of course, blushed madly at this, turning an apparently amusing shade of scarlet, if her Master's short cough of laughter was any indication, when Lukas tenatively offered her his hand, asking for hers in kind. Seras glared daggers at her Master, who stood to the side looking entirely too smug.

"You'd better get used to it, Draculina. It's officially part of your future job to accept gestures like this from nobles of the Court." Seras nearly balked, but decided better of giving him the satisfaction. Instead she turned her blushing face to the side, offering her hand carefully to the vampire before her, which she watched discreetly from the corner of her eye as he placed a delicate, barely-there kiss on the back of her hand. The action made her turn a deeper shade of red, but she lost half of it watching him pull back, catching a glimpse of his teeth as he smiled up at her, suddenly understanding why he hid them.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lady Victoria." Lukas said, smiling.

Seras turned crimson once more at this, swallowing. "You don't have to call me that, you know." She pouted, thouroughly embarrassed by the display, which Integra clearly found amusing as well, since she _humpf_ -ed under her breath. As Lukas stood and backed away, Jean, who had rather disappeared behind their conversation, went to move to the door and- in his usual, clumsy style- tripped over his own feet, making to fall on his face. Seras seen this, and moved suddenly to catch him- only, by the time she was made to move, Lukas had already caught him. The action startled everyone, but mostly startled Jean, who gasped in shock once he realised he was in the arms of an unfamiliar vampire.

"Relax. I realise I must be intimidating, as a stranger, but I meant it when I said I meant you no harm. Besides which, I couldn't very easily drink your blood if I tried." Lukas said, finally smiling with bared teeth-

Four of which were conspicuously absent.

"You- your fangs..." Seras said in astonishment, having been right about what she seen earlier. He really had no canine teeth, no fangs to speak of. You'd think it would somehow make him less attractive, but to Seras it made him seem almost cute.

"That's right." Lukas said, releasing Jean. He then lifted his lip with one finger, displaying his obvious lack of fangs for the human to take in, neutralising his threatening appearance, what with his black wardrobe and dark skin, considerably. "My wife and I belong to a rare faction of vampires- the first of our kind that we are aware- who have chosen to have our fangs removed. There is a silver cap placed surgically inside the bone to keep them from growing back." Lukas said with far too much pride for Seras' boggled mind to really understand. How was not having fangs a good thing?! How did he eat?

"You _chose_ to remove them?" Integra asked incredulously.

"Yes." Lukas said, sighing. He then pulled something from out of his coat, a necklace with a rather unusual, certainly surprising pendant.

It was a cross.

"Not very many of our kind choose to follow a faith once they are turned, many believing that God has forsaken them- thus, they forsake God, too. I was once like them- a Godless heathen, no offence, who took _what_ I wished, _when_ I wished, _how_ I wished." He smiled bitterly, turning to his wife. His expression softened, and Seras noticed that she had stood and moved back against the wall. "But then, I met my wife. She was a human then; it was during the influx of the plague, when I first seen her. She had a very sick sister, who she tended to day and night with little rest for herself. I had lost my faith in God, I knew, but I did not realise I had lost my faith in humanity as well until that day. " He turned back to Seras then. "I was raised as a Gypsy boy; a nomad with no home and very little money. I remember, after I was turned, watching my people, and thinking- _I don't want that life anymore._ I wanted a home, a place to belong to- _someone_ to belong to." Lukas glanced back at his wife with a soft smile. "I met Amandine in southern France, at the height of the Black Plauge. Seeing her tending to her sick sister, where I had witnessed so many others abandon their family members to die alone- it inspired something in me that I had not felt for a very long time then. _Faith_. She gave me faith, that not all humans were cursed, as I thought initially; that maybe there was one shining light still left in this cruel world." Seras glanced invoulntarily at her Master for a moment, but found nothing worth noting. Lukas continued. "When she became sick as well, I could not bring myself to leave her; she had never seen me, but I had always been watching, protecting her, my precious light, from the shadows of the world as much as I could. But the sickness eventually affected her, and my light was threatened to be smothered." He gave a sad, almost imploring look to Alucard. "Would you not have turned her, were you in my place?" It was a rhetorical question, Seras knew, but she looked to Alucard for a response anyway- and was surprised by the forlorn expression he wore, as if he really _could_ relate.

"Anyway, she was the last living human I ever fed on. I had found my faith in humanity, and as we travelled back to my homeland, intending to settle there, we found a small group of still-believers; vampires who claimed that, be we as we might be, that we are all still God's children, even if we are bourne of the night; after all, the Lord made the Devil, didn't he?" Lukas chuckled shortly at this. "Even if we are destined for Hell when we die, we were made with a purpose. Maybe it is not such a glorious purpose," He said, shrugging, a lighthearted smile on his face despite the grave subject. "But what can we do about that? It is not our fault if God intended us to take the blood of others to sustain ourselves." Seras had to blink. He- this man- reminded her awfully of Pip, she decided. As if in response to that thought, she felt her friend's spirit stir within her, and quietly shushed him. There was no need for him to be awake right now.

"However, since we vampires can not partake in many of the religious ceremonies of humans, we had to make our own. One of these ways is to renounce your fangs, taking an oath of famine - or so it is called." He smiled almost proudly at this, again revealing his gap-toothed fanglessness. "All it means is that you are not allowed to feed on living humans anymore. You can take their blood if it is donated, as we do in our town, but you can not bite a human. It's actually much easier than you would think," Lukas said, scratching the back of his neck almost sheepishly. "Turns out, when you remove a vampire's fangs, you remove a lot of the urge to feed, too. I remember when I would go for a while without drinking, and feel a pain in my chest telling me I needed to do so- but now that I have no fangs, the feeling is not as strong." He shrugged once more. Seras had to regard him with awe. She'd never heard of this- vampires with no fangs? What else was there about her kind she didn't know?

"It is so effective at quencing our thirst, that Amandine and I work as Doctors for the village. She works as a paramedic, and I work with the sick." Lukas said proudly, a light shining in his eyes that Seras hadn't known a vampire was capable of making- not that she had much in the way of comparisons to make, not having met many vampires. "As you can imagine, there is a lot of human blood involved in both of these instances." He looked to Integra then, letting his gaze linger just a moment long enough to make the gaze appear purposeful. Seras didn't have to guess why- if he worked with the sick, then he probably knew from the second he walked in. "And yet," He continued, " there is not the same urge to drink from them, now that we no longer have the tools necessary to do so." Lukas smiled softly, but his expression fell after a moment, a dim light of anger creeping into his hardening irises.

"Our people- our faction...we desire peace with the humans." Lukas said somberly. "Too long, our kinds have been in a struggle between predator and prey. It may not be the popular opinion," He said, again glancing up at Alucard, who still had some height on him despite his tall figure. "But we do not see why, when both predator and prey are more than capable of thinking to this level, why our kinds can not find a more...efficient, way to go about handling each other. I have met just as many vampires who hated humans as humans who hated vampires." Lukas sighed. "I realize, of course, that our vision is only effective in the small scale. So much misinformation exists about our kind- it isn't a wonder the humans despise us." He spared a glance at Jean then, who bowed his head shamefully. " However, for now, it is enough that our village is at peace. Or, it was." Again, the light of anger filtered into his eyes. "For a long time now, vampires and humans in our village have lived alongside each other in peace- in point of fact, I can say with certainty that the better half of all of the people I have treated knew I was a vampire; but because I am fangless, and a preist in our faction, they do not fear me as much. Actually, the children are quite fond of asking me all sorts of questions." Lukas once more scratched his head sheepishly.

"Wait, wait, wait," Jean said suddenly, waving his hands to halt the conversation. "Time out. So, you're telling us that, not only are you a fangless vampire, and a doctor, but a religious _preist_ as well?" Jean asked incredulously, note of something like awe in his voice. "I mean, obviously you aren't lying about being fangless, but...I mean, you _do_ realise where you're at, right? I might not be a vet yet, but I know _I've_ never heard of a vampire practicing any religion, nor have I ever heard of one living alongside humans in anything that could be called peace." Jean finished his ramble, bowing his head. "Sorry, but it's a big change from what we are used to dealing with here."

"I understand," Lukas replied, giving Jean a soft smile. "I realise that to you, the concept of benevolent vampires is a strange one, but my people- vampires as they may be- genuinely live in the village without much incident. Well, until children started disappearing and reappearing as vampires, that is." Lukas' fists balled, his jaw clenching noticably. "It has taken a _very_ long time for our village to acheive the peace it has; we may be accepting of passers by, and we certainly don't try to force others into our way of life; it is their choice to renounce their fangs or not. However, this- this mindless slaughter, the influx of Night Children and Childe's alike, all of which are left without a Master; it is beyond even our threshold of tolerance." Lukas hissed through his teeth. "However, as we can not trace our perpetrator, we must look for assistance elsewhere. Taking up the matter with Arvin was utterly useless." Lukas said exhasperately. "He does not approve of our faction's attempts to make peace with the humans, and remains stubbornly ignorant of the success we have had." Lukas' voice dropped suddenly, taking on a sad, almost pleading tone. "The humans in my village did not fear us; they came to trust us, to rely on us. They knew we weren't human, but since we presented no threat, they allowed us to remain- some coming to depend on us, even." Lukas said this with a sigh. "But now that their children and relatives have started either going 'missing' or turning up dead with obvious marks of a vampire attack, they have become suspicious of even the fangless. My wife, me, and all other fangless vampires in our village rely on the humans who donate their blood to us willingly in order to sustain ourselves; now that these incidents have been happening, however, the humans are far less inclined to be generous about their blood. You can see where this creates tension, between all persons- both human and vampire, as well as between the vampires themselves. There are those who follow our faith which are not fangless; they are the ones who have the most tension on them right now."

"The humans trust them because of their faith- but there would be nothing stopping them, theoretically, from using that to their advantage and feeding as they pleased. I am not saying this is necessarily the case, but from the human's perspective, it might look like the ordinary vampires are manipulating them. I would be suspicious too, were I in their position." Alucard said thoughtfully. "And it may very well be that there is one among you who could be the perpetrator. The guise of a preist is a very convincing one, after all."

"True, but that would be unlikely," Lukas argued. "All of our members must undergo a ceremonial process to be received into our faction. Robes are not given out until this process, which includes a personality assessment, is complete. It is possible, however, that one of the still-fanged members of our group is being used by another vampire outside of it."

"Perhaps. But there is one thing that rather bothers me about this." Alucard said, frowning. "You said there were never any Ghouls, correct? Only newborn vampires?"

"Yes. We have yet to come into an contact with Ghouls, which would imply that our perpetrator is doing this quite deliberately. It also implies that he has been in the village for a time, or is in league with someone who has been. I mentioned the new arrivals earlier, because it is suspicious, certainly, that all of this began when they arrived; a man and his Childe, both from the north. Furthermore, since the killings began, they seem to have disappeared- but I have a hunch that they are still around." Lukas stated flatly.

"So you came to Hellsing, to Alucard, your _true_ King, looking for help to catch them." Integra said suddenly, drawing all eyes to her. She walked forward then, purposeful in her strides. She stopped just in front of Lukas, who once more kneeled before her.

"Yes. Of course, I realise you are presently the one in charge here, so I suppose that I should be asking your permission first. How silly of me," He said, smirking. "May I, perhaps, borrow your vampire soldiers for a time? It would certainly earn your organisation a good word with the people, as well as the vampires." Lukas said temptingly, hoping it would be enough to entice the Hellsing official.

"You know who I am?" Integra inquired suspiciously.

"Well, of course. You don't think Dracula was the only vampire Van Hellsing went up against, do you?" Lukas said with a strange smile. A light of comprehension blossomed slowly behind Integra's one visible blue eye, to which Seras nearly balked. He wasn't serious, was he?

"Yes, Van Hellsing and I knew each other long before he met Alucard. But that is a tale for a different time. I knew you were the one, though, by the way you hold yourself. The Hellsing family has always been proud, and have a certain air about them- even when they are unwell." Lukas remarked, sending what felt like an arrow, a sudden, razor sharp reminder through Seras' heart, that her Master's Master wasn't going to be around much longer. It made her sad to think of, and she let her eyes fall to the floor.

"I see." Integra replied, smirking herself, though she looked exhausted now. "Well, your points are certainly hard to argue...And I do suppose some good publicity would be nice, even in a foreign country, since the vampire crime rate here in London has been practically non existent. I might consider your request, then, as a favor." Integra smiled assuredly. She'd already made up her mind. "One, I might add, that I will expect to be repaid."

"Of course. You have my word, on my honor." Lukas said, bowing very lowly. "I will do whatever you request of me in exchange for this favor. Please, I implore you," He looked between Integra and Alucard, gaze hopeful. "Grant us this one request, for the sanctity of our faction and our village." He looked to Alucard then. "That reminds me, before you decide; there are vampire nobles in the village, one's who may or may not recognise you; however, I believe all of them to be trustworthy, should you wish to keep your whereabouts a secret. Already, I have made a few vow not to inform Arvin of your return to Romania, should you agree; that is a fight- no, a _war,_ better waged at another time."

"I see." was all Alucard said, a cheshire-cat smile slowly spreading across his face. "Well, my Master, what are your orders?" Alucard said, turning to Integra, whom regarded him as she usually did in these situations. She was quiet as if with thought for a moment before speaking to both her servants.

"Seras, Alucard, pack your things. It would appear you are travelling to Romania."

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 **Ooooh, what ever shall happen next, I wonder? Heheheheheh...I really am too evil.**

 **For those who appreciate Lukas, have no fear- I hadn't really planned on having an OC element here like I did in Given, but alas, Lukas was just too good of a character to pass up. Honestly Gypsies have always kind of been interesting to me, and since there's a denser population (I THINK) in eastern europe, I decided, hey, why not? :3**

 **Alright, you know what to do: REVIEW for the next chapter! Your encouraging words keep me going!**

 **Until next time, Aufweidersehen!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, this chapter was a bit complicated to piece together, so forgive me if it's a little...disjointd. (yes, that was intentional) I wanted to reflect upon some more AluSeras before we get too far. That said-**

 **WARNINGS: This may get a little bit emotionally heavy, so mind your heartstrings. TRIGGER: deep, if maybe OOC, insecurity ahead. Read at your own peril if the warining applies.**

 **Moving on-**

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 **CH VII**

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Romania.

Integra was sending her away to Romania. To her Master's homeland. To the country she would one day soon be living. To the place she would one day call home, when all this, all of the people, all of the memories, all of the feelings- when all of Hellsing was gone.

Seras couldn't stop herself. She cried.

The tears were choking her, mercilessly raining like bullets from her eyes, big, fat and bloody. She couldn't stop them, even if she tried. The sobs, she could control a little better, but her breathing still came out in involuntary, unnecessary gasps and squeaks as she tried, vainly, not to make too much noise. The last thing she wanted right now was a lecture from her Master about why there was no reason for her to be doing this- to be bawling her eyes out because, _damnit_ , it just wasn't _fair_. None of this was fair- Integra dying wasn't fair, being sent to a foreign country, whose language she barely spoke two words of, wasn't fair, and the fact that she knew, the moment she arrived in said country, that the reality of what she was going to be expected to do-

She couldn't even think of it without sobbing. She knew it was less fair to them, to those children, but damnit, it wasn't fair to her either. She'd never killed a child, had never wanted to- in fact, she rather liked children, and they liked her. _Why?_ Why did it have to be her, why did _she_ get put in charge of killing the innocent? The _ **innocent**_. Those kids had never done anything wrong, in all likelihood, not knowingly. They didn't _deserve_ to die.

But it was the law. And from what she could gather, it was a pretty _absolute_ law. She knew she was being irrational; she that they had been right, that putting those poor kids out of thier misery was probably what was best for them _. But that didn't make the job easier._ In a way, it made it harder- thinking of them like _animals_...

She couldn't handle it right now. And she was okay with that.

As long as she could get a grip of herself when it mattered, she could let herself be a bawling, bloody mess right now. As long as she was alone in her room, safe in her solitude, she could cry to her hearts content. As long as her Master didn't find her, couldn't berate her, she was fine. It was okay to cry.

But only when no one was watching.

But her Master could appear anywhere at any time, and had a habit of knowing when she was upset like this. He claimed, once, that he could sense whenever she was in distress; that even when he was gone, nowhere and everywhere, that he could feel it sometimes- her sadness. Her mourning. He'd made no other remarks about the matter then, but Seras was partially comforted to know that he'd at least acknowledged it at the time.

Now, however, she _feared_ that acknowledgement.

Alucard was a very emotionally out-of-touch person. He didn't understand, didn't _feel_ , emotions like she did. Like any normal person did. Seras had long come to grips with this fact, but it made explaining your feelings to him very difficult sometimes.

Alucard was not a kind of person, Seras had come to learn, who would willingly try to understand something he didn't unless it somehow benefited him to have that knowledge. Unless it aligned with whatever his present objectives were, he would take no heed of any information, regardless of it's importance to her or anyone else, or try to understand it. Similarly, he would not openly look at things from another person's perspective unless it somehow made whatever he was doing either more entertaining or which made it make more sense to him- but again, unless it benefited his goals, he was usually content to remain ignorant. He just didn't care.

Part of Seras respected this about him. Being able to put your feelings aside completely in the name of completing a task was an admirable trait to have as a police officer, military personel, or just about any other job that involved difficult decisions like the one's she cringed to think she may have to make. And considering her Master was a King, it largely benefited him in the long run to be able to ignore his feelings completely and make decisions and actions, if necessary, using logic and to a lesser extent, value judgment alone.

However, it made interpersonal, _subjective_ situations much, much harder with him.

Part of her respected her Master and admired his resolve and his ability to just _do_ whatever had to be done without whining or complaining about it. But a very different, very secretive part of her hated that he never tried to understand her feelings in situations like these. Hated that he refused to give, even a little, for her woes. Hated his cold, unemotional way of handling things that should, rightly, be handled with emotions.

Hated how unforgiving he was about her weakness.

Hated how brutal he could be.

Hated how much she utterly _adored_ him for all of it.

Her feelings became very muddled as she cried- she hadn't done so for so long now, she felt she might as well, while she was remotely safe, cry about everything that had been weighing on her lately. Her feelings about her Master were already up in the air before, but now? Now, after their kiss, after listening to him handle the situation with Lukas in a formal, professional _, royal_ way, her feelings were even more disorienting. Did she love him? Yes, of course she did- the question was _how_. Initially, she'd had an almost paternal kind of affection for him, like a daughter loved their father. But it had always been different- after all, they shared a bond, a connection, that humans just didn't have. It was complicated to explain even in her mind, but there was just something there, something that tied them together in a way that made no sense and perfect sense at the same time.

But now her feelings were more ambiguous than ever. Did she love him as a friend? Then why the hell had she gotten the impulse to kiss him- and why had she followed through on it? Did she then love him as... _more_ , than that? If she did, then what was she supposed to do about it? She doubted confronting him about it would do any good. This was Alucard, for Christ's sake. Besides which, she wasn't even sure about anything yet. She daren't even think of what his feelings about her were. Sure, he seemed to love her, in a way, but she rather doubted that it was the same way she felt.

Seras felt a presence behind her just in time not to jump at the sound as her Master slipped into her room, making a soft thud against the ground with his boots as he approached her. She felt herself tense involuntarily, and decided to go with it. Maybe if he noticed her discomfort, he'd leave her alone.

Yeah, right.

"Shouldn't you be packing?" He said flatly. "We are leaving at seven tomorrow morning." Seras felt herself cringe inside, her heart constricting as her back muscles tensed almost painfully, her posture stiff and standoffish, trying purposefully now to send her Master a message: _I want to be alone_.

"I was getting around to it." She replied once she was sure her voice wouldn't crack. She was grateful he was behind her, unable to see the bright, bloody tear tracks on her face- though, she realised with a short, sharp shock of anxiety, that he could probably smell them.

"Why are you crying?" There it was. The beginning and ending of her safety, the death of her sense of security. She swallowed thickly, knowing he would get angry if she didn't answer him.

"It's...a lot to handle. I mean, killing children? You might be made for things like that, Master, but I'm not." She kept her voice just above a whisper, not trusting herself to talk any louder without squeaking. Her throat hurt now more than ever, and her heart rate shot up. The fact she knew, somehow, that he heard it do so just made it go up more.

"Is that what you're so anxious about?" Alucard asked matter-of-factly. _'Well, no, actually YOU are the one who's about to give me a heart attack right now, but I digress.'_ Seras purposefully sealed off her mind, not wanting him to hear that, among other things. Instead she simply nodded, not trusting her voice right then. She stiffened more as he came closer to her, approaching her side. She didn't have to look to sense the suspicion in the movement. He wasn't buying it.

"I see." He said flatly. There was a long, weary pause, and Seras felt her muscles ease a tiny bit involuntarily, hoping somewhere that he wouldn't press the matter. She honestly couldn't handle a lecture on how she was being weak right now. In all likelihood, she would explode- and she knew from experience that exploding at Alucard was like shooting a box full of dynamite- her anger was a spark compared to his _boom._

"We leave at seven. Be ready by then." He said curtly, promptly turning around and heading back to his room. Seras sighed inside before actually sighing. Part of her had actively anticipated an argument, and another was grateful one hadn't happened. But she knew, in any event, that it wasn't over.

After all, she still had a plane to board.

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 **Shortest chapter I think I've ever written, but it was a good place to stop.**

 **I apologize for any hurting hearts- but Alucard isn't exactly a nice person most the time. That said, I hope you all enjoyed.**

 **Please REVIEW for more. Until then- Aufweidersehen!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Alrighty, new chappie!**

 **Okay, gonna keep this short-**

 **So, it turns out Seras' english voice actor...is also a singer. A pretty well known one too. (even I have heard some of her songs) And as it would happen, there is a song written by her that actually fits into this piece. So, if you want, you're welcome to imagine Seras singing it. :3 NOTE: I am writing the lyrics by sound alone, since I can't find them anywhere. So if I get it wrong, oops.**

 **Going onward!**

 **WARNINGS: more Angst. Alucard being an asshole. The usual.**

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 **CH VII**

 **'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''**

 _ **Fire Starter**_

 _By Katie Gray (who also voice acts Seras)_

 _'''_

 _You're the first story burning up the heart of silence;_

 _You're the fallen star who travels the darkened distance;_

 _The world is on fire, smoke is in the eyes of heaven;_

 _Take a step closer, everybody knows your song..._

 _'''_

 _Once a little high, love will always find you crying-_

 _So maybe you should try this, it's everywhere-_

 _You've been searching for the passion hidden in the ashes of your fear,_

 _Burn it to the core, the love that you don't start;_

 _It's happening-_

 _'''_

 _Stand in the light, you are golden,_

 _And dance with the flame that's inside of you;_

 _Sharing your strength you're witholding,_

 _Just let it be known,_

 _Your own truth,_

 _It's inside you.._

 _..._

 _And all of your dreams, they'll become distasters,_

 _If you lock them in the darkness of your mind;_

 _And we're all here just trying to find the answers,_

 _We will be until the end of time._

 _It's happening..._

 _'''_

 _Stand in the light, you are golden,_

 _And dance with the flame that's inside of you;_

 _Sharing your strength you're witholding,_

 _Just let it be known,_

 _Your own truth-_

 _It's inside you..._

 _..._

 _There's a sweet smell of fear in your garden,_

 _Disguised like the scent of a rose;_

 _And so you won't break, you stay hardened,_

 _And hope that,_

 _Nobody knows..._

 _..._

 _Stand in the light, you are golden,_

 _And dance with the flame that's inside of you;_

 _Sharing your strength you're witholding,_

 _Just let it be known,_

 _Your own truth-_

 _Stand in the light you are golden,_

 _Just let it be known,_

 _Your own truth-_

 _Inside you..._

 _''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''_

Seras took a deep breath as she stepped out of the car that had acted as their transport from the airport to the small village of Lukas' origin. The plane ride had happened in silence for the most part, Seras not having the courage to speak to her Master much, not after he'd seen her like that the night before. She had instead been taking Romanian lessons from Lukas and his wife, and had been making much progress for such a short plane ride. She'd become accustomed to traveling in the cabin now that sunlight didn't bother her as much, not that she really had to worry about that, since the window shutter beside her had, thankfully, remained closed the entire trip.

When she hadn't been taking lessons, she'd been sleeping, so that now, at some odd hour of the night that Seras didn't even want to consider- after all, she'd jumped time zones, so in honesty she really didn't know- she was awake, as much as the jet lag would let her be. She yawned as she stretched, not so much from stiffness as stress- to say that being here didn't silently wrack her nerves like a canary being cornered by a cat would be a lie.

The question was, _why_?

She didn't want to think of it- frankly, she didn't want to think of anything right now, her mind seemingly torn between being a fuzzy, cloudy mess that kept her from focusing properly (jet lag, she reminded herself, it's just the jet lag) and being super sharply perceptive of everything around her as she mentally shook herself out of the stupor.

She'd been here not three minutes, and could already guess it was going to be a long week.

"Lady Victoria, are you coming along, or sleeping in the car?" Lukas called from ahead of her. Seras shook herself out of her thoughts, her mind fuzzy again. ' _Ugh, when's it my turn to get over this? Master doesn't seem affected at all.'_ Seras whined to herself, internally sighing. "Yes, coming- huh?" she went to retreive her bags first from the back of the car, but peering in the window, they were gone.

"I have your things, Lady Victoria." Lukas called, walking away, carrying bags in both hands, as promised. Alucard was already ahead of him, striding along like he knew precisely where he was going. The thought somehow turned out a new knot in her stomach then, making her swallow to ease it.

"Oh, thank you!" Seras called back with a smile that came more naturally than she'd anticipated. She bounded to catch up to them, coming up beside Amandine, who turned to look at her almost warily. Surprised, Seras shot a look to Lukas.

"Forgive her. She is not quite as convinced as I that you will be helpful to us. That, and I think she's afraid I might take a fancy to you." Lukas laughed, a light, airy sound, that was so much different from the dark, mischeivious laugh she was used to that she couldn't help but blink. Amandine didn't seem to find his sense of humor so amusing, clearly having understood _some_ of what he'd said, shouting somthing at him in what sounded like French, playfully shoving his shoulder. He responded by chuckling something in Romanian, causing her to blush furiously, giving Seras a once-over glance as she did so.

"Um...?" Seras hummed, curious just what she was missing out on, being as the subject seemed to be her, if Amandine's continued glances at her were any indication.

"Forgive us, it is rude to speak in a foreign tongue before our guest." Lukas apologised, bowing shallowly. "I was merely remarking that you _do_ have a lovely figure- I would not put it past my wife to become jealous- though I am sure she wouldn't be the first lady you've put in that position." Lukas smiled crookedly at her as a blush spread across her face from cheekbone to cheekbone.

"Um...thanks?" Seras muttered awkwardly, unsure how much of a compliment that was.

"Seras." Her Master called her name, demanding her instant and un-recalcitrant presence at his side. It was a tone she was accustomed to, and which she shamefully admitted that she would "heed like a dog at times, often far too happily", in the words of Integra. Now, however, her usual excitement was replaced with a sense of unease as she slunk beside her Master, wondering what he'd called her for.

"Yes, Master?" She asked, peering up at him from his side. He made a gesture then, forward, and Seras turned to look where he'd indicated.

Before her was the village she presumed they would be in for the next week, laid out almost in a circular pattern, with old-looking houses that were small and...well, village-ey. The whole town seemed to be painted one brilliant maroon color, with a few homes here and there having a white or brown hue to them. There was a pale wooden fence coralling all the houses together going all the way around the village, she guessed, which parted right where they stood, a large, even paler wooden arch cresting just over their heads, with words carved into it that Seras couldn't quite make out- not that she supposed it mattered, since she didn't speak enough Romanian to understand them anyway.

"What does the sign say?" She asked curiously. Alucard lifted his head to look at the arch then, examining the faint words carved there.

" _In nocte exspectantes,_

 _In luce dormiunt_

 _Exitibus et providimus animabus nostris,_

 _Custodire verba nostra._

 _Qui habitat in lucem_

 _Sit obscurum veri,_

 _Nam unusquisque vestrum apud me_

 _Intra me et te. "_

Lukas came up behind Seras, reading the words on the arch. Seras looked back at him breifly before regarding the sign again with awe. She wasn't sure, but she was pretty confident that it wasn't in Romanian, but Latin.

"What does it mean?" She asked. Just then, Alucard gave an amused snort.

" _In the night we wait,_

 _In the light we sleep_

 _And in the crossroads of our lives,_

 _Your words are ours to keep._

 _You who lives in light_

 _Possesses a dark truth_

 _For in each of you is me,_

 _And inside of me is you. "_ Alucard translated, a smirk on his face.

"It is a reminder of the oath our faction has made- when they first settled here, long before I arrived, they vowed never to harm the people any more than they had to- no violence, no ghouls, and no uneccessary bloodshed." Lukas explained.

"Wait, so the people here have _always_ known there were vampires among them?" Seras asked in awe.

"Yes, more or less. There was a time when we all had to go into hiding due to an order issued by Arvin, whom does not appreciate our faction, but the order was repealed after a time due to the strain it placed on us fangless. After all, we feed from donated blood- you would think people would be more reluctant to give blood knowing it was going to vampires, but the opposite is actually so for us. As long as no one in our faction goes out of their way to hurt a human, they are glad to give us all that we need." Lukas turned to Seras, smiling charmingly. "Now, shall we go inside, M'lady?" Lukas said, offering his hand to her. Seras blushed, looking to her Master breifly for any sign of a reaction. His eyes became harder, but he said nothing, so Seras figured it was fine. She took Lukas' hand carefully, surprised by his gentlness as he led her backwards into the village. He turned around after a few steps, but did not let go of her hand, holding it regally.

"But, what about...I mean, there have to be vampires who still...y'know?" Seras hinted with a blush.

"Yes, there are still those who prefer to feed the 'old fashioned' way, as it were- and there's nothing wrong with that," He said, smiling over at her. "Our faction does not discriminate in this way, so long as the vampires in question clean up after themselves and do not affect the population too much. Still, as you can imagine, the humans are not always so fond of this idea." Lukas explained smoothly. "But they cope with it."

"What's in it for them?" Alucard asked suddenly. Seras whipped her head around to look at him as he strode on the other side of her, now keeping just behind them. Lukas also looked back at him, throwing him a bewildered stare.

"I am afraid I do not understand..?" Lukas said sheepishly.

"The human's aren't stupid. If there are vampires here who eat them, then why do they stay? There has to be some other benefit to them."

"Ah," Lukas said, understanding lighting his features. "They are protected by our church. We have made an arrangement with the Romanian government to allow our church to provide Sanctuary for the people. Fugitives, most of which are immigrants, come to us looking for shelter and food. But more than that, our village grants the humans protection from the very Council I am a part of." Lukas said, looking around. "To explain for the Lady," He said, glancing at Seras breifly. "There are things humans can get in trouble for with the Vampire Council as well. Cheifly, if they are involved with a vampire romantically." Lukas explained. He stopped then, gesturing around him. "Look around, Miss Seras. Tell me, do you see anything that would indicate that most of these people are criminals?" Lukas said, and Seras had to turn a puzzled glance at him.

"It is forbidden for humans and vampires to be together," He explained, catching her confused stare in his maroon orbs. "It is safer that way- besides which, the creation bourne of mixing human and vampire genes is often dreadfully sick or dies shortly after being born." Seras now threw him a shocked and bewildered look, not understanding.

"They are known as Dhampir. A hybrid between a male vampire and a female human. They are exceptionally rare to begin with, though I have heard of it happening." Alucard filled in. "As he says, they usually die young. How the undead and the living manage to produce anything together is beyond me, but it only happens between _male_ vampires and human females. " Alucard said, throwing Seras a look that had her eyes falling to the muddy ground. "All female vampires are infertile, that I am aware." Alucard emphasised, as if to say _don't go getting any ideas._

"Yes, and as M'lord has pointed out, most Dhampir do not survive- and the ones that do, rare as they may be, seldom live to even the end of a human lifespan." Alucard gave Lukas a puzzled stare for a moment before the other vampire continued. "We have had a few Dhampir come into our sanction, most of them young children. But there was one- his name was Vladimir, so he claimed- who lived here for many years. He died of unknown causes when he was fifty three- at least, we assumed he was that old, given that he was around fourteen when he came to us, ironically running from the Council."

"What was he running for?" Seras asked, before the pieces seemed to click together in her head, prompting her to ask, "Are Dhampir...illegal, too?" Seras cringed the tiniest bit at the implication, preferring she kept her mind away from that topic as much as she could.

"In a manner of speaking. The Council does not go after them specifically, since the law stands that the very union which creates them in the first place should be abolished- never mind that they are so rare it would be nearly impossible to find them all in any span of time. No, Vladimir was convicted of a crime- though he never did tell any of us what it was he was convicted of, and none of us asked." Lukas said, finally letting go of Seras' hand, taking graceful strides with his head held high. "It is not our place to ask what brings our travellers here, only that we offer them refuge."

Here, he stopped, looking upwards. Seras followed his gaze to see that they were standing in front of a cathedral, it's stone an shade of gray that probably only betrayed half it's age. She was rather surprised she hadn't noticed it before, since it towered over all the other buildings, at least four stories high at the crest of the entrance, probably six or more up to the spire, which was decorated in black with a gold cross matching the one Lukas wore decorating it on two sides, front and back. A large arch with a huge, circular stained glass window decorated the front, the image that of a white cross with red and blue glass in a myriad around it. There were other, smaller windows above it, each having a small image in them that Seras could not make out from where she was standing presently.

"Wow, it's beautiful." Seras remarked, struck by the size and archaic beauty of the building.

"Yes, in that I do agree." Lukas said, smiling at Seras gently. "Now come, I think you should meet the others before you begin your work- we will work out living quarters afterwards." Lukas said, striding ahead of them- it then occured to Seras that her bags were no longer in his hands, and thus she glanced about for them, only to find that the quiet woman that was Amandine had taken one of them, and that somehow her Master now held the other. Suddenly embarrassed that she wasn't carrying her own things, she approched her Master, ducking her head almost shyly. "I can take my own bag, if you like." She offered meekly. Glancing up at his face, she was met with a mask of cool indifference that she felt like she should be used to by now, but which still somehow managed to facinate and unnerve her at the same time.

"It's fine. You're excited to be in a new place. You should enjoy what you can _while_ you can." Alucard said, and Seras was uncommonly surprised by the equally uncommon note of genuine honesty in his voice, as though he really meant it.

"O-okay...okay." Seras perked up a little at the notion that she was allowed to explore the cathedral and town before they went traipsing through it hunting for evil vampires. Her previous anxiety about the situation had absolved for the time being, replaced now by curiousity and a desire to explore her new surroundings. "Thank you, Master." Seras beamed a genuine smile at him, her tension around him temporarily forgotten.

As Seras turned and entered the cathedral with newfound spirits, Alucard remained for a moment, stunned into stillness. That smile of hers, so bright, so innocent- it always managed to do something to him, no matter how many times he seen it. He normally got the impulse to pet her whenever that happened, and this time had been no different- but something had stopped him from acting on it this time. Something hidden in her eyes, something he could sense beneath her smile, beneath her skin.

She'd been acting strangely around him since last night, as if she was expecting him to suddenly snap at her or be angry with her for crying. True, he hadn't the foggiest clue what she had to cry about, but it wasn't his business if she didn't make it his business. She was a growing Childe- she got stronger and better every day. If she wanted to cry in her room or shut him out, that was her business. As long as it didn't interfere with her strength, her growth, he had no room to complain-

Provided she didn't do it in front of him.

He'd never cried over much of anything in his life- not since he was a human whelp. He seen no point- it didn't help anything, and usually only made you feel worse than you did before.

However, Seras, being the tender creature she was, did not share his opinion on the matter. She could and would cry if she felt the situation saw it fit- but, thankfully, she usually did so in solitude, preferring to hide away when her emotional wounds were stinging her and needed to be cleansed, to be licked clean.

He respected that.

To him, crying was the same as holding up a flashing sign to whomever had hurt you saying "I'm vulnerable, come and get me".

In his experiece, anyway, it had always happened that way.

Still, he didn't want to know what she'd been having a fit about last night, and didn't care to. But what he was rather curious about was the way she'd been acting today- he hadn't barked at her, hadn't scolded her, so why was she acting like a beaten child, like she was expecting him to hit her at any moment?

He didn't get it. And that irritated him.

So, in the interests of setting his curiousity to rest, he made a decision right then, as he walked through the heavy wooden cathedral doors. He told himself he really was just curious to know as he caught up to his Childe, just what was going on inside her head.

Now all he had to do was get her to open up her mental doors.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

 **Alrighty, alrighty. Another chappie on the double!**

 **Yes, I will update Given, but alas, action scenes are not my forte, so you who are also following that one will have to be patient until this melancholy mood that has been plaguing me lately leaves me with enough inspiration to finish it off. Apologies for that.**

 **Alright people, things are building up. Slowly, but surely. After all, you need a good foundation to build a sturdy house- so a story needs a good foundation as well. Next chapter hopefully will start building the walls a little bit, so be prepared.**

 **You know what to do- Please, REVIEW for the next chappie.**

 **Until next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok, I am writing this sick, so if it doesn't make sense, blame the nasty bug that has decided my sinuses and lungs are a good place to live.**

 **For those mayhaps interested, I do have a brand spaking new Wattpad account that I will probably be using in the future. My Name there is ParadoxicalShadows- I don't guarantee I will post too many fanfictions there, but I do have other works that I will be publishing in the near future. (once I get a little better). This includes poetry, short stories, contest entries, and a novella that I am in the process of writing. :) (Psst, look for the tag #porcelainghosts if you'd rather just skip to the novella.) Figure I might as well get some publicity where I can. Thank you. :3**

 **Going on with things:**

 **WARNINGS: Assholes abound in this chapter. Not gonna lie. But you'll understand why once all is said and done. That said, it has occured to me to include this in case someone missed the memo about the fic thus far (IMPORTANT)-**

 **There** _ **WILL**_ **be** _ **infanticide**_ **in future chapters. What does that mean? It means I get to cry in front of my computer screen while children are being killed. None of that is particularly graphic for obvious reasons, but IT WILL HAPPEN. As cruel as it seems, trust me, I will cry more than you do, since I'm the one putting those emotions down on the page. :'( I will, for courtesies sake, try to be vague about those scenes, but like the death of Ophelia in Hamlet, it must happen for the sake of the plot.**

 **Now, going onwards:**

 **'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''**

 **CH IX**

 **'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''**

The interior of the cathedral was warm in both temperature and color scheme, it's old gray stone on the inside looking nothing like on the outside, polished to a dim shine. The floors were noticably paler, looking like polished granite almost, though the color wasn't quite right- there were tints here and there of an ash-like color, but Seras just attributed that to age. The pews at the front were a rich redwood color, and on either side of them were aged brass mantles, each carrying four white candles that were lit with a bright orange flame which reflected copper upon the brass. The altar at the very front was decorated in red and gold hues, with a large golden cross looming over the heads of around five individuals who all stood around it for the time, breaking into two groups, one of three persons who were all heatedly discussing something in a half-circle, and another of just two who appeared much more casual in their conversation. All persons, however, wore simple religious robes whose predominant color, unsurprisingly, was black, with red and gold trims. Upon Seras' and Alucard's entrance, the two having the more casual discussion turned their heads to observe who had joined them. One man had a youthful, but very pale complextion which might rightly be compared to porcelain for how ghostly he appeared, with long hair that was an obscure off-white color, almost like aged lace or the yellowing of an ancient candle. And like lace, it was noticably fine, even pulled into a low tail at the nape of his neck. His eyes were a strikingly beautiful wine-red color, and rimmed with doll-like lashes. In point of fact, Seras noted, if he were just a bit more round in the face, she might be tempted to describe him as such- like a living doll. He wasn't much taller than she was, though not the shortest one- that title belonged to the man- or, maybe boy? - standing beside him, who had a slightly darker complexion that was noticably dotted by a "mask" of freckles spreading over his cheeks. His mousy brown hair was short, but not too short- it dangled in front of his face enough to annoy him, in any case, as evidenced when he absently raised one hand to brush the offending strands from his face. His eyes were large and boyish, and were a crimson color a bit like her own, except just a tad darker, maybe.

The two regarded the strangers with quirked brows, the shorter of the two, who would have been lucky to meet Seras' chest, cocked his head at her in particular quite curiously, the action making Seras hide a smile behind her gloved hand. Once he spotted Lukas walking in beside her, the boy's face lit up like a kid at Christmas.

"Lukas!" He cried enthusiastically, calling the attention of the other three, who hadn't been paying any mind, and now regarded Seras and Alucard with quite the opposite response as the other two, suspicious and even accusatory glares being sent her way in particular, she felt.

"Hello, hello!" Lukas replied cheerily, for now giving the other three no mind. Seras, however, _did_ mind. One man, who was unquestionably the tallest, nearly as tall as her Master at least, sent her a piercing glare that practically screamed at her to _get out_. Rather offended and quite startled by this reaction, she simply huffed, squaring her shoulders like she'd been taught, and strutting on purposefully. She'd learnt a long time ago to ignore people like that, and took a nearly giddy kind of delight in pissing them off by doing so. She spared him but one glance, and knew her intuition was right- he was getting more and more scarlet by the second, watching her waltz in like she owned the place. She nearly smiled. _'Dunno what the hell his problem is, but I sure as hell am not going to back down just because of a dirty look. Lord knows I got them all the time in the academy, just because I was a "girl" who, '_ Here Seras mentally quoted the phrase her academy peers had used to taunt her once, _' "looks like she would do better in a brothel than in the police force." '_ Seras had to huff. She'd dealt with condescending males most of her life due to her...ahem, figure - what was one more asshole?

She took in the three from her periphery as she followed Lukas almost on autopilot, taking in their faces in case any trouble came from them, as she rather suspected it might, considering the looks she was getting- but the question remained, why just her? She decided to look back at the man from before, returning his glare with a stare of her own. He was very tall, and had very short tawny* colored hair and a general facial construction that made her sort of naturally assume he was either German or Austrian, with pale skin and eyes that were colored like fire, a bit like her Master's; and like them, his eyes quickly and bereftly betrayed his emotions to her without her even having to struggle to read them: anger, suspicion, agitation, caution. Seras had no qualms about meeting him in the eye, not this time, her pride rather determined to make her prove her place here, even if she didn't really have one. Call it dominance instincts, but she wasn't going to just let him think he could walk on her like that. Only one man got to do that, and he was rather preoccupied at the moment.

Though, so was she.

And mayhaps had she not been, she'd of noticed said man trying to get her attention.

"Seras!" Alucard barked, making Seras jump before whirling back around to face him, somewhat confused as to why he'd used such a strict tone with her.

"Yes?" She peeped.

"What on earth has got you so distracted?" He huffed irritably. She glanced back at the tall man, who's gaze once more bore into hers for a moment before lifting above her to meet Alucard's. At this Seras looked quickly back to her Master before again zooming over to the other man, who's fierce, fiery gaze now locked with Alucard's dangerously, like deer locking antlers. There was an instant, undeniable tension in the air, what with both "bucks" of equal size and quite possibly intensity. Silence echoed in the wake of their contest, and the other man grew visibly agitated the longer it went on, his facial muscles tightening and fist forming slowly at his side. Just as his head began to bow like a feral dog, Lukas interfered.

"Ariel!"** Lukas shouted at him, breaking the silence so raptly that it made the two beside him jump. The man, Ariel, then reluctantly transferred his gaze over to Lukas, though it lost little of it's ire. Much to Seras' surprise, however, Lukas didn't back down, instead sending him a cold, piercing stare that seemed nearly unbecoming of him, considering the gentleman she'd known thus far. The look was familiar, too- it was a similar look as the one her Master gave her sometimes when she mouthed off a little too much. To see such an expression on Lukas, of all people, both surprised and intrigued her.

"Enough." Lukas said with an, again familiar, sort of finality, though this reminded her more of Integra than her Master, for he said it in such a way that though the words themselves were softly said, they might as well have been a roar. It was this single, soft-yet-deadly warning that finally smothered some of Ariel's fire as he cast his eyes away from Lukas in a gesture of submission that Seras was far too familiar with.

" _Și doar ce bine crezi că aducându-le aici este?! Nu se va schimba -Dacă nu le poate prinde, ceea ce te face să crezi că poți_ _?"_ Ariel said in a defensive tone, gesturing to herself and Alucard with a sweeping gesture. At this, her Master began to chuckle darkly, earning him a nearly murderous glare from the irate vampire.

"If you don't want our help, that's fine by me." Alucard said, wicked grin slowly beginning to spread accross his face, teeth wet in the dim light. "But as your King, I largely prefer to have the majority vote for occaisions like this." At his words, Ariel's face changed instantly from anger to shock, his reddening skin immediately draining of color until he looked nearly as ashen as the floor. Clearly, he hadn't realised who held his audience.

"Forgive him. He's more upset by the disappearances than many of us." Lukas explained with a sigh. At this, Ariel shot him a suddenly weary look, as if to say _don't go there._ But, of course, Lukas ignored him and continued. "He lost his only fledgling trying to capture the one's we think are responsible. We got close to their trail once, and were within sights of one adult vampire- this, his fledgling, Evaine, followed. However, somewhere between handling the Night Children that were there and following the perpetrator, she was attacked." Lukas explained somberly, and suddenly Seras felt a little guilty about her pridefulness earlier. "She was shot once through the heart with a silver bullet- she died instantly." Seras looked over at Ariel, who's eyes were scrunched shut and fists balled in an obvious attempt to withold his emotions about the matter, to which Seras remorsefully felt her heart reach out to him invisibly through the air. He wasn't trying to be a prick, she realised guiltily, he was just in the phases of greif. _'Way to make_ _ **me**_ _feel like the asshole.'_ Seras huffed to herself, sighing internally.

"I'm sorry." She offered quietly, shooting the man an apologetic look. He looked at her then, a sadness in his eyes that touched something inside of her then, reminding her too suddenly of her gloom and anxiety from earlier.

"I apologize as well." Ariel said with surprising clarity, just a hint of an unplacable accent on his tongue. "I did not intend to come off so rudely. We all have been a bit more wary of strangers in the past weeks, yourselves included." His eyes strayed tiredly over to Alucard, his expression suddenly looking jaded. "Forgive me, I did not recognize your Majesty." he said in a flat, nearly monotone voice. At this he bowed curtly, but shallowly, something in the suddenness of his gloomy, witheld disposition sending up a tiny red flag in Seras' head. It wasn't so much a sense that he was dangerous to her, per say, but that something wasn't quite alright with him upstairs, so to speak. The mood had changed too suddenly, going from irate and aggressive to submissive and jaded; she'd seen the shift before in her more experienced men, and had a sense that it meant ill things for this man's mental state, for as a general rule it did. Then again, he _was_ greiving, so she supposed no one in their right mind _would_ have a right mind, given something like that. Still, she could sense it- some deep, unspoken greif that probably went a lot farther back than his fledgling. She felt a stab of pity for him, but dismissed it just as quickly. It was his problem to deal with, and she had worries of her own to handle. Besides which, she understood enough about the process of greif to know that there were times and places for things, and that this wasn't one of them.

"Now that that is taken care of," Lukas said, back to being chipper. "Let us make some introductions, shall we?" He turned to face the altar with a crooked grin, gesturing to herself and Alucard with a shallow bow. "May I present to thee the King of Vampires himself, Lord Alucard, and his lovely Childe, the Lady Seras Victoria." Lukas announced with far too much enthusiasm for Seras' comfort, making her turn red as a cherry, still unused to the honorific titles. She spared a glance at her Master, who had an unplacable grin on his face. Clearly _he_ was enjoying it.

"Oh! You really did find dem, Lukas!" The boy said in a very thick accent, though it wasn't precisely Romanian. More like a slurred mashup of Romanian and some other accent she couldn't place. In any event, it lead her to believe that, like Ariel, he wasn't originally from Romania.

"Well of course I did, Cedric! What sort of Father would I be if I didn't keep my promises?" Lukas beamed a smile up at the boy, Cedric, who returned the smile with an undoubtedly childish enthusiasm- upon which Seras took note that he, too, was fangless. Clearly they had a unique relationship, one Seras recognized instantly as being that of a teacher-pupil sort of thing. Yet, she had a nagging feeling that Cedric couldn't be Lukas' Childe- he did say Amandine was the last human he fed on, didn't he?

"I suppose we should introduce ourselves next, then. It would be rather rude to leave it one sided, wouldn't it?" The other man beside Cedric said, and Seras had to take a moment to mentally process the sound of his voice. It wasn't like anything she could say she'd heard before, with a very obviously British intonation just like herself, perhaps indicating English was his native tongue- but that's not what caught her about it. It was the soft way he'd spoken, his words barely rising above a whisper, with a subtle, silky kind of drawl to it that seemed like it could put her to sleep just listening to it- and not in a bad way, either. He had a voice worthy of a lullaby, and he didn't even need to sing.

To say she wasn't impressed would be a lie.

He wasn't that bad looking either, with that oddly colored hair, somewhere between silver and gold, forming handsome-looking bangs that fanned across his forehead unevenly, casting shadows over his wine-colored, dollish eyes...

Seras caught herself with a blush before her mind could go any farther.

"My name, for all intents and purposes here, is Duma.***" He said, bowing gracefully at the shoulder. "I am the head priest here, though I seem to have misplaced my robes, so I'm afraid I am wearing more typical attire today." He smiled sheepishly at this, and Seras again took note of his teeth- all of which were intact.

"Duma has been here since way before we got here," Cedric said with a grin. "He's de oldest one- he won't tell me his real age, but I bet he's like, a t'ousand!" Cedric said with boyish excitement, raising his arms dramatically. Duma beside him pulled gently on his collar, a silent reminder to behave himself as the older vampire simply closed his eyes thoughtfully.

"And of course you know Cedric here." Lukas said, gesturing to the now pouting boy. "He was only fifteen when he was changed; he is one of many wandering Childe's who come here sometimes when they have lost their Master, or their own has abandoned them, as was the case with Cedric." Lukas turned to Cedric, flashing him a sympathetic smile.

"Lost?" Seras echoed almost involuntarily, the memory of her own vanishing for thirty years creeping up on her like a snowstorm- quiet and seemingly harmless, but frigid and painful at the thick of it.

"Yes," Lukas' expression became somber for a moment. "Sometimes, things happen, and a Childe is left without their Master for whatever reason. Sometimes their Sires abandon them, and sometimes they are..." Lukas left off meaningfully, nodding his head as if to replace the words with the gesture. Seras nodded back in understanding, swallowing thickly.

"And...what happens to a Childe, when, you know..." Seras asked quietly, too curious for her own good. At the look Lukas exchanged then with Alucard, she nearly regretted asking.

"Actually," Lukas said, a coerced smile on his face. "We have a Childe with us who has suffered this misfortune. I am sure he would not mind the company later once introductions have been made and living arrangements settled." Lukas shot her another crooked smile, but it was too hard. Too forced.

"Alright." She murmured, suddenly not sure she wanted to know anymore.

"Good," Lukas said, clapping his hands together and turning to the other three on the Altar.

"You know Ariel," He said, gesturing to said man, who's eyes remained downcast. He then motioned to the other two, who stood behind Ariel, also with gazes averted. One of them was averagely sized, with long black tresses and a complexion similar to Duma's, only somehow more pronounced due to his dark hair, which hang in impossibly straight lines from his scalp, obviously thick and possessing just enough shine to make it not look like a black hole was growing there.

"That is Hamlet. You will find he does not say much." Lukas gestured to the man, who turned his face to the side so that his bangs covered his face. _'He seems shy.'_ Seras remarked, smiling just a tiny bit. "And finally, we have Aurelein over there, who you will find _also_ does not say much, but for different reasons." At this Lukas let out a chuckle, to which the man, who had a head of auburn hair that remained largely to one side in broad waves, shook his head, making a rapid, though unmistakable gesture with his hand that Seras immediately recognized from her human days, however long ago they had been.

"Is he deaf?" The question popped out of her mouth before she could think to stop it, making her immediately slap her own mouth, cheeks lighting up in shame.

"It's quite alright, dear," Lukas cooed comfortingly, " And frankly, I'm kind of surprised you knew so quickly."

"W-well..." Seras scratched the back of her head meekly, also kind of surprised she'd been right. "I don't have the best memory of the event after so long, but I'm pretty sure that there was a deaf kid in my orphanage...I remember watching the other kids sign stuff to him, and tried to pick up on it- though I can't say I know how to sign too many more things than might establish people on a basis like this- asking for names, ages, things like that." Seras smiled sheepishly, a blush adorning her cheeks when she noticed a surprised stare being directed at her from her Master.

"I didn't know you could speak sign language." He said dumbly, blinking.

"W-well, I don't really, not that well...It was just kind of a hobby thing, y'know, back in the academy...I thought it might be useful in case of a car accident or something." Seras shrugged.

"Academy?" Cedric inquired. "Did you go to school or some'in, Miss?" He asked.

"Well, I was a police officer before I was changed, and you have to go to a special school for that, so, in a way..." She answered with a warm smile. Her smile widened when Cedric's eyes went wide, his whole body practically wriggling with excitement.

"Cool." He whispered with mild awe. He was definitely a young vampire, Seras could tell that much. Her thought turned sour then, however, as her inner demons none to kindly reminded her that it was people, _children_ , like _that_ , like him -

She daren't let her mind dwell there, stubbornly ignoring those feelings for right now.

"Well, now that that is established," Duma breathed, soft as the wind but somehow commanding of everyone's attention. "I should think that our guests would like to know where they are staying." He gave Lukas a somewhat pointed look at this, to which Lukas could only scratch his head absently. "Right," He muttered, a soft blush coloring his cheeks. He turned back to Seras and Alucard then, clearing his throat. "Well, you have two options for living quarters. Initially, we rather assumed you might stay here in the cathedral, since it is the safest place for you to be - however, after some consideration, it has occured to me that you may not both feel entirely comfortable in a place like this," He gestured subtly to the cross behind him. "So, I have arranged for you to take up my own home in town for the time, should you wish to do so. I generally remain here at the church anyway, since there are rooms upstairs precisely for that purpose. However, you both are welcome to stay in either location- however, due to the old nature of this cathedral, I am afriad that there is only one room available to be of use to you at present, should you wish to stay here." Lukas said, holding up one finger for emphasis.

"That will be fine." Alucard said before Seras had a chance to reply. "One room should be plenty for our purposes." Seras quirked a brow at this, not quite expecting him to take the room in the church over the house they'd have to themselves.

But then, Alucard was a strange man sometimes.

"Very well then. Amandine," Lukas called, turning to search for the woman who had once again seemingly disappeared, finding her hanging out behind Alucard, silent as ever. _'Guess she can't really say much, though, since she doesn't speak English...'_ Seras felt a little dab of pity for the woman, and then guilt once she recalled that she still had one of her bags. "If you could be a dear and show them the way. I am confident our Lord is more than well equipped to translate if he has to." At this he shot her a warm smile, which was returned with a slight upturning of her coral colored lips. She then walked in front of them, gesturing with a beckoning motion of her hand that they should follow.

Seras and her Master followed her back behind the altar, where there was a hidden stairwell that went into the upper floor. There were no lights behind the altar whatsoever, and even Seras had trouble seeing in the dark stairwell. She kept close to her Master, listening purposefully for the sound of his footsteps and keeping a tabs on his energy levels, which she was kind of thankful she could sense. Not realising how far she was drifting, she jumped when she suddenly felt his arm brush against hers, stepping aside a bit before returning to a more comfortable distance somewhere between "too close" and "not close enough."

Seras blinked against the moonlight when they exited the stairwell, which opened up into a hallway with large windows that let in the moon's light. The hall was covered by a long red carpet, with small, ornamental mirrors lining the interior wall, which had red and black tapestries hanging at even spaces along it's length.

" _Nu este nevoie să se teamă de lumina soarelui atât de mult aici. Sticla este tratată, astfel încât lumina ultravioletă nu se poate obține în acest bine._ " Amandine said suddenly, gesturing to the windows. Seras looked to her Master for interpretation.

"She says the glass in the windows is specially tainted, so that ultra violet light can't get through. It means you can probably safely walk through the sun when it's in this hallway and not get burned." He explained casually, looking around at his surroundings with an unreadable expression. Seras' eyes widened at this news, curious where she'd been when that technology had been created, for she'd never heard of such a thing.

"That seems handy," She remarked, examining herself as they passed by the mirrors in the hall. One thing she was grateful wasn't true was the myth that vampires had no reflections- she'd forever be going mad if she never got to see her own face again, having grown quite comfortable with the commodity. Still, she was curious.

"What are all the mirrors for?" She asked, forgetting that Amandine couldn't understand her question. The vampiress turned around anyway, glancing over to Alucard with a need for interpretation.

"You know, this is going to get tiresome, Seras, so you'd better 'brush up' on Romanian quickly, or else I'll leave you to flounder. They say immersion is the best way to learn a language, after all." Alucard said, smirking. Seras huffed at him sassily.

"Well I'd probably learn it better if the person teaching me _knew how to teach me_. " She emphasised, giving her Master a shamelessly pointed look. He chuckled at this, shaking his head.

"And since when is it my job to teach you everything?" He said, half annoyed, half amused. "You ought to try learning some things for yourself for once."

"Well, I'm sorry, language isn't exactly something you can learn very well by yourself- besides which it would be kind of stupid not to take the opportuninty that would yield the best results when it's _right there_. " Seras sassed, indicating to Alucard with her hands.

"And just what makes you assume I'm the one best qualified to teach you?" Seras had to stop and think about that for a second.

"Because you already know how to teach me." She finally settled with. "You know what methods work best for me, kind of." She explained. "Besides which, it feels a lot less wierd to me to have you do it than a total stranger." She defended, crossing her arms. She knew it was childish, but she just couldn't help it.

"So it's because you're familiar with me?" He asked sardonically, a smug smile tugging at his lips.

"Yes, in a way." Seras' gaze became unfocused with thought for a moment. "Because you're familiar to me." She said, and Alucard didn't fail to miss the strange tone she'd said it with, as though she was just realizing something.

He didn't have much time to dwell on it though, as Amandine, who had long been ignoring their conversation, halted before a wooden door just around the corner, which he hadn't even recalled turning. There was a candle lit above the door, which was yellowish and clearly very old, with the varnish stripping off of it in splinters that looked like they could get stuck in someone's skin just by touching it.

"It appears this is ours." he remarked, examining the door breifly before grabbing the brass handle and turning it slowly, testing the resistance of the lock. He was well accustomed to locking his door during the daylight hours to prevent unwanted intruders whilst he slept- the only people who could get into his chambers during that time were Integra, who had a key on her at all times, and Seras, who could just phase through the door. He wasn't sure if any vampires here could phase through things like they could, but he was counting on the fact that they couldn't, and that thusly a weak doorhandle would probably mean the lock was easy to maneuver, and therefore easy to open.

He walked into the room, which was decorated in the same red, black, and gold colors as the rest of the cathedral, with a plain red tapestry decorating the wall opposite him, and a small wooden vanity that looked easily as old as the door pushed against the righthand wall, beside which was a tiny window that probably overlooked a balcony above the altar. On the vanity was a lantern that spread a soft yellow light through the room, casting shadows off it's rough stone walls. There were marks on the floor where there had clearly once been a bed pushed against the far left corner, but there was nothing on the floor now.

"Wow, that room is tiny," Seras said, cringing a bit when her voice echoed.

"It's large enough." Alucard stated, walking over to the vanity and setting the bags he'd been carrying beside it. Amandine followed suit, setting Seras' things down at last. She sighed in internal relief at this for some strange reason, taking in the room. It smelled just as old as it looked, the wood of the vanity and door obviously begining to disintegrate. Seras' anxiety returned once she realised that she'd be sharing the room with her Master, which might not have been a problem, except, y'know, the room was really small...and her Master kinda was a big person...Seras sighed externally this time. She could see some personal space issues in her future, none of which she particularly wanted to think about right then, what with her ambiguous feelings about the matter.

"Welcome to Romania, Seras." Her Master said, laughing mockingly as he turned and left the room, leaving Seras to her thoughts as well.

 _'Yup. It's gonna be a long week.'_

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 **Ok, wordcount done for the day. :)**

 **Now for the too-long absent thing I like to annoy you with- yup, you know it -**

 **ASTERISKS!**

 ***Tawny:** _Is a color that falls somewhere between red/orange and yellow; however, it's kind of a unique color. Think strawberry blonde but with brown notes in it. (yes, I have a thing for redheads, I admit)_

 ****Ariel:** _As much as I know you all immediately jumped to "The Little Mermaid," that's not actually why I picked the name. Going along with my angel theme from before (recall that Balthioul is the name of an angel who thwarts distress) Ariel, which is pronounced AH-REE-El, like the way the crab Sebastien says it, is also the name of an angel, the "lion of God" or an angel of protection._

 *****Duma:** _Also going along with my angel theme, Duma is the name of the angel prince of dreams. There is also another angel who has a very similar name, Duma_ _ **h**_ _, which is the angel of silence- this name will not appear for the sake of confusion, however, I did in fact model Aurelein after Dumah, the angel of silence, for a reason. You'll just have to read on to find out why._

 **Okay, well I hope you enjoyed! I really am not that experienced making OC's, so Lemme know! That said, plz REVIEW for more!**

 **Until next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Ok, I promise you there's plot developing in this chapter! Keeping this brief-**

 **I decided to double update without a review, since this is such a slow story, and this chapter was just lying around. You're welcome.**

 **WARNING: Angst ahead! Alucard being Alucard. Etcetera.**

 **This song I Strongly recommend looking over, because it literally writes this chapter and the next two or three as Seras faces what she must do. :)**

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 **CH X**

 **'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''**

 _ **All That I'm Living For**_ _(in this case, the acoustic version, which is much more tragic sounding.)_

 _By Evanescence_

 _..._

 _I can feel the night beginning,_

 _Separate me from the living-_

 _Understanding me,_

 _After all I've seen-_

 _Piecing every thought together,_

 _Find the words to make be better;_

 _If I only knew,_

 _How to pull myself apart-_

 _'''_

 _All that I'm living for,_

 _All that I'm dying for,_

 _All that I can't ignore alone at night..._

 _All that I'm wanted for-_

 _Although I've wanted more;_

 _Lock the last open door,_

 _My ghosts are gaining on me..._

 _..._

 _I believe that dreams are sacred;_

 _Take my darkest fears and play them -_

 _Like a lullaby;_

 _Like a reason why;_

 _Like a play of my obsessions,_

 _Make me understand the lesson,_

 _So I'll find myself -_

 _So I won't be lost again._

 _'''_

 _All that I'm living for,_

 _All that I'm dying for,_

 _All that I can't ignore alone at night..._

 _All that I'm wanted for-_

 _Although I've wanted more;_

 _Lock the last open door,_

 _My ghosts are gaining on me..._

 _'''_

 _Guess I thought I'd have to change the world,_

 _To make you see me;_

 _To be the "one" -_

 _I could have run forever;_

 _But how far would I have come-_

 _Without mourning your love?_

 _'''_

 _All that I'm living for,_

 _All that I'm dying for,_

 _All that I can't ignore alone at night..._

 _All that I'm wanted for-_

 _Although I've wanted more;_

 _Lock the last open door,_

 _My ghosts are gaining on me..._

 _'''_

 _Should it hurt to love you?_

 _Should I feel like I do?_

 _Should I lock the last open door?_

 _My ghosts are gaining on me..._

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Seras paced in her new room, fretful. Their coffins had been delivered on a separate plane, since they'd had to take the _one_ private plane that _didn't_ have a cargo hold large enough for them. (She could thank one Sir Islands for that, since the man had reposessed the bloody plane that did, saying that insuring it had become too expensive in todays economy...bastard.) Seras kept peering over at her Master's coffin, which he'd narrowly retrieved before sunrise. He slept inside of it now, and rightly, she should be sleeping in her own-

But there was no way she could.

Her self-induced calmness shattered the second she'd been safely concealed inside the box, and she nearly had a panic fit inside of it, and so now paced silently beside it, occaisonally sitting on top of it when she got stuck on a thought.

Why did it have to be her? Why did it have to be him? Why couldn't someone else be the bloody King of Vampires- why did it have to be _her_ Master, _her_ superioir? She paced again, back and forth in the small room like a panther trapped in a cage. And in a room so small that, though thier coffins were a comfortable distance from each other, they took up eighty percent of the floor, she kind of _did_ feel trapped. The fact she knew the door had been locked made that worse in a way- she knew, logically, that she could just phase out if she had to, but it still affected her in some deep psychological way. Locked doors meant less freedom in her mind. Less freedom.

Less freedom.

That thought rolled around her head for a second as she glanced back at her Master's coffin worriedly. Sharing a room with him made her nervous, because though she slept like the dead, she knew her Master was a very light sleeper most of the time, and could wake up from having her simply appear in front of his door during the day. _'Please don't wake up. No offence, but I'm not sure I could handle you right now.'_ She was careful not to send that thought hurtling toward him, knowing he would wake up from telepathic whispers just as easily as if she'd been talking out loud. To him, they were kind of one and the same.

Back to freedom. Why did that thought stick to her, of all of them? She examined it. She was technically free to do as she wished, within reason. If she really wanted to, she could leave this place. She could leave this room, and her Master couldn't rightly stop her.

Ha. Since when had Alucard ever done anything "rightly"?

"You're kidding yourself, Seras." She breathed. But why? Why did that thought bother her so much? It's not like she was really trapped here, after all.

But maybe that's not what it was about.

She looked to Alucard's coffin, and wondered for the umteenth time in her life why he'd chosen her, of all people, to be his Fledgling. She often presumed he'd done so out of loneliness or for the sake of having a legacy to leave behind in case he ever did die. But a new, bigger question had been bobbing around her head ever since they'd kissed.

Why did _she_ stay?

She _chose_ to walk beside her Master as his Fledgling. She _chose_ not to drink from him, not to sever the bond they had. She _chose_ to come here, when she could have said no. (Not that she thought saying so would have yielded any results, which is why she hadn't in the first place, but the option had been there.) And she ultimately was the one to _choose_ the night over her own death.

The question was, _why_?

Why did she follow her Master? Why did she respect him so much, even when he terrified her? And why was she having such a hard time with this- all of this?

She could forgive herself for being upset about killing innocent people. She had been a police officer- her job had been to protect those people, not murder them for something that wasn't their fault to begin with. But she hadn't been able to shake this feeling of unease surrounding her trip to this place, and had a feeling that it ran deeper within her than she was letting herself see. That there was some other kind of issue that she just wasn't consciously recognizing here.

Seras sat on the coffin again, thinking. It was going to bug her, now that she'd mentally voiced the thoughts. What was she _missing_? Her intuition drew her eyes back to her Master's coffin, recognizing that it had something to do with him. Of course it did, she reminded herself; he was the one who she realised, looking back on it, made her the most uncomfortable here.

She traced back her thoughts, like retracing steps. When Alucard had walked into the village like he knew the place, a strange sense of unease had hit her. Initially, she'd attributed that to general nerves, but now she wasn't so sure. All the way on the plane trip over here, she'd told herself that she was nervous about her Master because he'd caught her crying over nothing- but again, she wasn't too sure now. There'd been something beneath all of that, her intuition told her. Something was inherently frightening about all of this, and she doubted it had anything to do with the vampires. So just what was bothering her about it? She huffed out a sigh, slumping on her coffin. She was tired now, but still too restless to sleep.

"What are you doing?" Her Master's voice scared her so badly she shot up straight, standing abruptly before whirling to face him. He did that a lot, she realised- scared the dickens out of her.

"I can't sleep." She replied honestly, looking at her Master through the crack he'd opened in his coffin lid.

"Your thoughts are being quite noisy." He replied, and Seras' heart hit her stomach with a sickening _thump_ that she could hear in her head. She seen her Master quirk a brow as she felt the color drain from her face. What was _wrong_ with her? Normally she wouldn't be surprised- Alucard eavesdropped on her thoughts all the time, and she was usually okay with that, since neither of them ever really made a big deal of it, even if he _did_ taunt her sometimes. So why was she getting to upset over it now? _What was different_?

"Are you alright?" The question, coming from Alucard of all people, surprised Seras, whilst also making her stomach sink further once she processed it fully. No, she was not alright. Defninitely not alright.

 _But WHY?_

She didn't know how to respond, but knew lying wasn't going to be of any help. Even without looking in her head, Alucard was like a living lie-detector. Just because he didn't always say anything didn't mean he wasn't superb at picking out someone's cues- though he didn't have to try very hard with Seras, since she was a terrible liar anyway. She settled for shaking her head, her expression vacant.

Alucard quirked a brow, somewhat irritated and somewhat concerned - though the emotions usually went hand in hand with him anyhow. He lifted his coffin lid, sitting up. He was never going to be able to sleep if Seras' mind was in such a disarray, not while she was sleeping - or _supposed_ to be - not a meter from him. With a wall in between them she was easy enough to ignore, but the closer they were, the stronger their bond, both telepathic or otherwise. In any event, he wasn't going to sleep until she did, which meant adressing the issue, no matter how much he'd rather not.

"What's got you so nervous, Seras? You act like I'm about to eat you." He couldn't help but throw in a sarcastic smile, but Seras didn't react to it. Instead she stared at the floor blankly.

"I don't know. That's what I am trying to figure out." She said quietly after a minute. "Suddenly, Master, you frighten me. All of this," She gestured around her. "Frightens me. And I can't say I understand why." She said, thinking out loud. "You're a very scary person when you want to be- but...I don't know. Part of me is afraid of you, and part of me wants to be around you. You're familiarity in a strange place. A small comfort, but also strangely a source of anxiety. I just can't fathom why." She looked at him then, her eyes expectant, but wary. Her body language was wary too, as if she might bolt at any second if he said the wrong thing. It was very strange behavior for Seras, and it really did concern him a little.

Silence stretched between them for a long time as Alucard pondered her words. He had an inkling, but had been avoiding saying anything about it because he knew the conversation would become cumbersome later. But now that he wasn't left with anything else to say, he figured now might was well be as good a time as any to bring it up.

"Did this feeling of fright happen to start occuring shortly after our little 'Kiss' ?" He said, trying to keep the note of distaste out of it, but failing, if the cringe Seras gave was any indication. She blushed pink, but seemed to seriously consider it.

Seras thought back. Had that really been a factor? Why would it be? Was she afraid their relationship would change? Clearly, by the way he'd said that, it hadn't, not to him at least-

Seras mentally face palmed as a light went off in her head. One she was careful to conceal.

Of course it had been a factor, she realized, because it wasn't that she was scared their relationship _would_ change, but because she had been afraid it _wouldn't_.

The revelation threw her for a loop, making her rock back slightly. Another one swiftly followed the first, making her cease breathing, which she did out of habit more than need.

There was only one thing that could have made her expect that sort of change. One kind of feeling that brought about things like that. It finally answered one of her questions though, on the brighter side.

She was falling in love with him.

Part of her anxiety around him hadn't just been fear of reprimand- it had been some subconscious fear of _rejection_. She was afraid, on a number of levels, she realized, that he would turn her away now that they had come to a new place. Another epiphany struck like lightning then, and all the pieces fell into place.

"Master..." Seras said, looking up at him with tears brimming in her eyes. Alucard's expression changed from bored and slightly annoyed to surprised. Man, women were moody. (you'd think he'd of learnt this by now, with as many wives as he'd had).

"...Please don't be mad." She said, tears threatening to spill. "I know you don't understand, but...but this is just a little overwhelming..." She swallowed as her voice cracked on that word, not knowing what other one to use right then. "Overwhelming right now." She finished, prepared to slink off to cry in peace, though she wasn't sure where the tears had even sprung from.

Alucard looked on in utter confusion. Women really made no sense to him. He sighed. If he didn't want this to keep happening, he told himself, he needed to fix it. No matter how much the thought vexed him, he knew that if he didn't play "rescuer" this one time that she would probably fall to pieces, and he would just as soon not deal with all the questions he would get if someone out there found her crying, presumably because he did something, not that he knew bloody _what_. He took a breath, calming himself. Getting angry at her wasn't going to do anything other than make her angry. Seras was much like him that way- getting mad at her made her reflect his own ire back at him a lot of the time, which in turn made him more angry, and thus it went on - such is why their arguments had a notoriety at Hellsing for escalating very quickly to borderline-violence. But thankfully, their spats often ended just as quickly as they started.

But what the hell did she expect him to do? He wasn't good at "fixing" these kinds of situations. He'd had to do so just once with her before, after he had come back. Seras hadn't talked to him for a week after he'd returned, childishly angry with him for leaving. They'd fought as a result, and Integra's only advice then had been to "fix things with her." He'd done so then by listening to her cry and letting her hug him after pushing just the right buttons to get her to do so, and they'd been just fine after that. But he didn't even need to push any buttons now, for it appeared Seras had pushed them herself just fine. He let out a long sigh.

"Come here." He said simply, suddenly. Seras whipped her head around to look at him like he'd grown a second head. He fought another sigh, beckoning with his hand. Seras' guard visibly shot up as she approached him cautiously. He stood from his coffin, turning to sit atop Seras' instead. He once more beckoned her over until she was within reaching distance, grasping her hand and leading her with surprisingly little effort to his side. He let his arm drape on her shoulders, letting her know it was okay for her to touch him. Irritated though he was to be doing this, he felt a kind of long-forgotten fatherly instinct tug at him, reminding him that Seras was still a child at heart, no matter how old she got, and that there was some wierd sense of "rightness" in doing this. He'd gotten the same feeling last time as well, and was rather confused as to where it had come from.

Seras didn't waste much time taking the invitation, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head into his shoulder. It took a minute for her to find the tears again, but once they started, they grew quickly into sobs. He kept the tension from his muscles by sheer force of will, not at all comfortable, but willing for the time to let her be. If it meant avoiding future complications, complications which might very well affect her ability to do her job if he wasn't careful, he would allow her tears to stain his coat an even darker red, just this time.

To say he didn't care about his Fledgling would be a lie. She was his - his to have, his to mold, his to grow and care for and tend to, like a tender shoot. However, a tree sheltered from the elements generally dies the moment you place it outside, since it is unused to the transfer. People weren't much different, he supposed. Glancing at Seras as she cried on him, he supposed he could be a _little_ empathetic. She'd been with him to South America once, true, but the situation had been different then. Besides that, he didn't think she'd ever left England. Besides, this was Romania- the country she was going to be ruling beside him one day. Thinking on it, he supposed it could be seen as a little overwhelming, but if she reacted this badly to just being here, who's to say how she'd react once Hellsing fell?

He thought about it. Maybe he wasn't giving her enough credit. She was being asked to kill children here- a task even Alucard didn't favor. He couldn't say he necessarily minded it, but there was always that one child every so often...He banished those thoughts, knowing that it was just Seras' gloomy mood trying to infect him through their vampiric bond. Unbeknownst to many, Vlad Tepes _did_ have a son, one Alucard hardly remembered, but which still occaisionally found a way to haunt him in visions he could see in the eyes of the children he was sometimes called upon to murder.

And which sometimes haunted him even in the teary eyes of his own Fledgling.

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 **Alright! Moving things along!**

 **I planned on making this much longer, but I decided to scrap the last bit because I wrote it at 4am and it just didn't make sense.**

 **That said, I know it's getting quite cumbersome, but Please, REVIEW for the next installment...(which should have another AluSeras moment, FINALLY) Things are being built up from here now that the walls have been made. Things should move faster now that the base is finally done. :)**

 **So again, please REVIEW! (PM's are also accepted).**

 **Until next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, time to get this ball rolling!**

 **This chapter might get a little...weird. I've been watching both Trinity Blood** _ **and**_ **Elfen Lied on top of re-watching Hellsing for the third freaking time (it's one of those anime that I never get tired of re-watching) so my inspiration is coming at me from a strange angle...**

 **that said-**

 **WARNINGS: Some cliche and not-so-cliche things ahead. Blood. Some MORE angst. Panic. The usual.**

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 **CH XI**

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Ariel walked down the corridor, passing by the door to the room their guests were occupying. They weren't in there now, having been sent out with Lukas to investigate a new disappearance from the east end of the village, leaving Ariel and Cedric in charge of tending to the masses as well as making sure no one entered the King's temporary chambers whilst he was away- "on penalty of swift death", so Alucard had warned. Ariel huffed.

It wasn't that he didn't like his Lord- he just found it remarkably difficult to respect someone who killed _for fun_. But, being just a lowly peasant, he didn't have any choice but to at least fake the dispays of respect he offered, begrudgingly as he did so; fucked up as it seemed, he knew he could be killed if he didn't. _'Just another in a long list of things that can sentance you to death in the presence of that monstrosity of a vampire. Vampire? More like a demon from the pits of Hell!'_ Ariel sighed at length, cooling off. _'But what bothers me the most about him isn't him- it's that poor sap of a girl he's turned.'_ Ariel thought back on the woman, who had at first seemed just as cocksure and arrogant as her supposed Master; but after listening to her crying the morning prior, though he hadn't meant to eavesdrop, his first impression of her shifted. _'I can't help but wonder what she was upset about...But I can only imagine it, considering the person she shares the room with. I don't even want to fathom what he could have done to her...Then again, it could just as easily be that I was the one responsible for upsetting the King, which may have reflected at her unfairly...Damnit!'_ Ariel grimmaced. He hated this feeling, like he was the one to blame for making her cry...And he hadn't even said anything to the girl!

 _'Maybe she was upset over something else...But Alucard was still in there when she was crying, wasn't he? So why didn't he do something to quiet her? I know I can't have been the only one to hear her sobs...'_ A startling, razor sharp thought gouged its way into his head, breaking through every barrier he'd put up to stop such morbid thoughts from entering there. The thought stabbed at his heart like the sting of a needle, making him pause in his travels. _'What if he tried to, but made it worse?'_ Ariel thought, swallowing. _'I mean, what could have started as silent tears could just as easily have become a death sentance, had she been anyone else...But even Alucard wouldn't kill his own Fledgling, not unless it was do or die...Would he? Could he really be so masochistic as to revel in the agony of killing one's own Childe?'_ The thought gave him a terrible feeling in his stomach, making him concerned suddenly for the little girl that was Seras.

He thought about her for a moment, letting his mind wander. She was certainly a very voluminous woman, which disturbed him, in a way; after all, her "master" was reknowned for doing all kinds of heinous things to people...he'd had God knows how many wives, to boot. The thought of Seras as another one of Alucard's disposable wives made Ariel shiver, partly with disgust, and partly with nerves. What was her purpose, exactly? So far as he was aware, Alucard had only ever had one other Childe, and she had wound up his wife for a time before going off and getting herself killed*. Would Seras meet the same fate? God, he hoped not. Not that he felt anything for the girl, really, he thought with a small blush; she was just...well, she just didn't seem like wife material for someone like Alucard. Maybe he'd gotten that impression at first, but after listening to her sob by the door for almost an hour, he wasn't so sure.

Ariel sighed again. It had been some time since he'd last had anything to do with the King, and even then, he hadn't had anything to do with him directly...maybe the man had changed? Maybe, just maybe, he wasn't the bloodthirsty monster he'd known before? Maybe, _just maybe,_ Alucard had been transformed during his imprisonment, Ariel reasoned; maybe the King had finally found the kinder side of himself.

Yeah, right.

He remembered the last time he'd had anything to do with that bloody, genocidal maniac. It had been some hundred fifty years ago, not long before Dracula had metamorphosized into Alucard at the hands of Van Hellsing...

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Seras kept low to the ground, keeping her temporarily assigned assault rifle tucked into her shoulder. This 'job' of hers required more stealth than her Harkonnen allowed, so Lukas had said. Thankfully, she brought backup weapons just in case of such a thing. She sucked in a deep, steadying breath, bringing her nerves down from the vertigo-inducing heights they were at at present down to a less nauseating level. She was in pursuit of someone suspected to be in allegiance with the primary Night-Child-turning suspects, but the bugger had up and vanished on her while turning a corner. This thought didn't especially perturb her though; she had the wherewithal to sense if anyone was coming up behind her, except maybe her Master if she wasn't paying close attention- no, it was the fact that she'd been warned well in advance that there was a susinct, but diminished, likelihood of encountering a Night Child itself while pursuing this particular person. Lukas had made it clear that it wasn't likely, since he was just a suspect-relating-to-another-suspect, but the probability existed nontheless.

 _'Cool it, Seras, you're getting too wound up over something that isn't even likely to happen.'_ She told herself, feeling her nerves dissipate in the wake of her self-talk. She breathed again, feeling it calm her gradually. Snorting in determination, she rose from her position, surveying the area before silently moving forward. There was no confirmation of whether this person was armed or not, but given her past experiences, Seras would much rather air on the side of caution.

Rounding the corner of a tiny house, she heard a soft rustling noise and froze so completely that it felt as if her muscles had been inexplicably turned to stone, made heavy and deliberate by an unbreakable spell that seemed to bind her beneath a sudden, unmeasurable pressure that squeezed her muscles like a snake, keeping her as still as waiting death. Her eyes found the will to move, and she scanned around her suspiciously, ears straining to make out any further sounds. Another small rustle came from around the house, promting Seras' frozen muscles into slow thawing action as she crept forward, plastering herself as flat as possible to the wall of the home in an effort to avoid detection. She sniffed the air curiously, filtering through the scents of the village in search of the one which would tell her if the thing on the other side of the wall was friend or potential foe. As the microscopic scent particles traced through her nose, she dropped into a crouch, prepared. Whether friend or foe, the thing on the other side was indeed a vampire- one which smelled unfamiliar.

Seras felt her muscles coil in anticipation, feeling very much like a stalking cat as she sank lower, her whole body a loaded spring. Her spine flexed tangibly as the person on the other side made obvious strides towards her, making her reel back like a striking snake. She held the position until the footfalls, soft though they were, stopped, holding the tension in her body at bay as power surged into her muscles along with adrenaline, preparing for a fight.

Picking what she guessed to be the most unassuming moment, she suddenly sprung out from behind the wall, feeling the glorious relief as her muscles released all of their tightly wound energy all at once. However, coming around the corner, she was confronted not with the man they were persuing, as expected, but a small girl, who screamed in obvious surprise as Seras leapt from her position, causing the girl to jump back some six or seven paces before falling flat on her arse, her arms coming up defensively to shield her face. Seras managed to halt her momentum just in time to avoid running into the girl, her heels digging into the earth in an effort to force herself to stop, muscles screaming in protest from their abrupt recindence of freedom after tensing so much before. Holding out her arms to keep her balance, Seras managed to halt just before the girl, throwing her weight back so as not to topple onto her. The action wound up being too fast, though, and down Seras went onto her arse along with the child.

" _oof!_ " Seras protested as she landed on her hiney quite sharply, feeling rocks from the dirt below her bite into her flesh through her uniform shorts like tiny fangs trying to pierce her skin, making her clutch her bottom reflexively from the pain.

"Ow..." She whined, rubbing her sore bottom as she did so. Turining her gaze upward, she looked at the girl before her, who wore a startled and frightened expression in her wide, jade colored eyes, short brown hair quite mussy and once pink dress now stained with dirt.

"Oh, sorry about that," Seras offered sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Thought you were someone else." At the incomprehending stare she received, Seras was again reminded that she was in a foreign country where English was not a particularly common language.

"Oh...um..." Seras fished for words from her "lessons" on the plane, but found none that would be useful in this situation. Floundering, she felt a twinge of panic tug at her when she again took in the girls pale, frightened face, which was eyeing her gun with a mixture of suspicion and horror.

"Oh, no,no, no!" Seras said swiftly, shaking her hands in front of her abatingly. "You misunderstand-"

With that, the girl promptly stood up, attempting to bolt- only to run face-first into Alucard's thighs.

"Master!" Seras said, surprised to see him appear so suddenly. "What are you-"

"Seras, go." Alucard said, looking down at the girl in front of him. "We spotted the suspect moving about a block from here. Lukas is in pursuit. Go join him now." Alucard said dismissively, piercing gaze effectively pinning the little girl down to the ground where she'd fallen. Seras couldn't help but offer her Master a confused stare.

"Then why are you here?" She asked.

"Because as it would happen, you have stumbled upon what was supposedly unlikely to be found here." Alucard said simply. It took a second for Seras to process the words, upon which she felt bile climb enthusiastically up her throat before lingering as a bad taste on the back of her tongue. She swallowed hard as she felt her blood rush to her stomach, making her queasy. "I knew you would either be unable to identify her or otherwise be unable to handle the situation as it needs to be handled." Alucard said, voice hard but not scolding. As if to emphasize his point, he pulled Casull from his breast pocket, and Seras forced herself to look away.

"You mean, she-" Seras paused mid-sentence, recalling that she had scented an unfamiliar vampire around the corner. She felt herself tremble involuntarily at the realization, feeling stupid for not putting the pieces together sooner.

"Yes." There was a pause as Seras felt herself freeze up again, though this time for different reasons entirely.

"Go, Seras. What must be done must be done. You'll come to understand in time."

"But Mas-"

"Go!" He barked, making Seras move on reflex, abruptly rushing to her feet. She spared her Master a single glance, refusing to look at the girl, and ran.

She ran, not just for the sake of catching up to Lukas, but also to gain as much distance between herself and what was happening behind her as possible. She stopped only a moment to pick up a scent trail Lukas might've left behind, and upon finding it pursued him outside of town and into a thicket of wood just beyond. She ran for all she could, pumping muscles that she had a distant recollection wouldv'e been quite tired by now were she human.

But she wasn't. Not anymore. Not for a while.

And neither was that little girl.

Seras stopped abruptly when she heard the tell tale _bang_ from the distance, recognizing the sound of her Master's gun anywhere as he took the life that hadn't yet come to live. She looked back fleetlingly, shoving her heart down when it leapt into her throat as if to choke her before turning around determinedly, pushing forward. She could think about it later. Right now she needed to catch the guy who might be responsible for even turning her in the first place. The thought made her angry, bitter tears threatening her eyes with a sharp pricking feeling- but she wouldn't let them fall. Not again, not so soon after the last time. She needed to be strong now. She _needed_ it.

Seras ran through the forest, trailing Lukas' scent, when she heard the tell-tale _pop-pop-pop_ of a semi-automatic, causing her to halt, alert. When she heard the sound again, she rushed in it's general direction, fearing that Lukas had caught up to their suspect already and was trying to take him on alone. She pushed her muscles faster, faster, until she burst forth suddenly into a small clearing, where the struggle was presently ensuing.

She didn't have to take much time to assess- Lukas was pinned to the ground beneath who she assumed was their suspect, the other vampire using a rifle to force him down, teeth gnashing at Lukas' throat. The suspect didn't even glance up at Seras, and for all intents and purposes hadn't seemed to realize she was there.

Feeling a surge of protective rage course through her, Seras wasted no time in drawing up her gun, aiming for the little shit's head with a sense of conviction- which was promptly shattered the moment Lukas turned his head to look at her.

His eyes were deep, panicked pools of wine as they fell upon her, perhaps fearing her to be another stray vampire, but his expression quickly turned luridly pale and desperate when he finally seemed to register her appearance. But rather than betraying a desperation to be saved, his eyes instead warned her. _Get out. Get away. Run._ His gaze flicked behind her for a split second, upon which his expression became even more grave, if that was even possible, pupils expanding like a cat's as he looked back at Seras with a desperate, panicked plea. His eyes hardened a moment later as he once more looked behind her before promptly widening again.

"Seras! GO! _Get away!_ Go away!" Lukas shouted at her suddenly, causing Seras to back up involuntarily, her mount dropping. About to turn around to see what he'd spotted, she was suddenly struck _very_ hard in the center of her chest by something moving very fast.

Several things happened in the next five seconds or so that would, unbeknownst to Seras, come to change everything she thought she knew about her life as a vampire.

Because as of now, it was in grave danger of ending.

Seras felt her body go rigid long before she registered that she'd even been struck, some hidden instinct paralyzing her muscles for a few seconds. Immediately following this feeling was the distinctive impression that...something just wasn't _right_. It wasn't an extrinic kind of feeling either, promting her to look down at her chest curiously-

Only to find about seven inches of a silver-capped _arrow_ jutting from beside her sternum, _dangerously_ close to her heart.

It took a few moments for Seras to register the severity of her wound, and a moment more before the pain actually struck her. At the same time her body actually reistered the tearing, distinctively stabbing feeling of the arrow wound, her self-induced paralysis gave up it's turn, letting her muscles collapse suddenly beneath an overwhelming sense of fatigue, like a puppet that had been suspended from wires suddenly being cut loose. As the ground approached her, she heard a distant-sounding popping, perhaps indicating that her attacker had been killed- or Lukas had. She didn't know.

She barely managed to catch herself on reflex before hitting the ground, landing half-doubled over on all fours and staying that way for a time as a sharp throb began eminating from her heart, a strange, wriggling feeling creeping out from it as though worms had suddenly invaded her body**, spreading a sharp, agonizing pain along with it, as though there were razors scraping along her very veins. It was then that the panic hit her.

 _'Oh no...My heart...My_ _ **heart**_ _! He struck my heart!_ _ **He hit my heart!**_ _'_ Seras thought about this for a second, taking in the surrealness of it. She'd imagined, curiously, what dying like this felt like, but she hadn't ever expected it to happen. Not like this.

 _'Guess that's just how it is. I mean, if death was predictable, we'd never die, would we?'_ Seras thought, feeling another instinct tug at her from deep inside, telling her- no, pleading with her to get up, to stand, to fight- _don't lie down! Don't lay down! Get up, Seras! Get up! On your feet - you'll be fine if you get up, Seras!_ Her inner mind shouted at her, promting her to try without strength to lift herself from her prone position, coming successfully up to her knees before losing out to a sudden throb of agony punching through her chest, making her dizzy with it's force so that the next thing she was aware of was the feeling of cool earth against her cheek.

Seras lie there for a time, mind struggling to form thoughts as a disgustingly wet hack brought up dredges of blackish blood from her lips, the fluid spilling onto the ground in a thick, tar like pool beneath her cheek, making it feel damp and warm in a way which was both strangely comforting and simultaneuosly alarming. She tried again to lift herself, but her arms had not the strength, and wracked futilely with shudder after unceasing shudder as she tried. She tried. _She tried_.

Her vision became dotted with black as another wave of anguish came over her, prompting she clutch the arrow jutting from her breast, not that it did much to quell the pain, or the realization that she was dying. In fact, it only served to make that observation more tangible, more real to her as she lie there, suddenly too weak to move. She was probably dying. For what? To what end was her death but her own? She didn't even know who had shot her. And with an a _rrow?_ Points for stealth, she had to admit. She let out a wry internal smirk, as her face was unable to express much in it's present state. A dry cough of laughter followed. She was such a fool.

Suddenly, she heard something- a distant sound like thunder, though it's fluctuation was all wrong. She heard again the noise, her hearing straining through an inexplicable shround of mist to make out the sound. Something about it seemed familiar.

As it happened a final time, she recognized it was a gun firing, one she felt she knew the sound of somehow. Suddenly, there was a voice beside her, deep and unmistakable.

 _"Master?"_ She whispered to him telepathically, not having the strength to do much more than shiver at this point- which, she realized belatedly, she was doing quite a lot right now, her whole body vibrating with wrack after wrack of tiny muscle spasms, though why she could not say.

 _ **"Seras."**_ His voice was strained, that much she could make out between the warbles of sound and a peculiar rushing noise in her head, almost like radio static, that had inexplicably begun to sound. The back of her head felt fuzzy, and she realized with a start that she didn't feel any pain anymore.

 _"M...Master..."_

 _ **"You did well. You did well."**_ He shushed. _**"I shouldn't have sent you alone. I wasn't expecting our suspect to have backup. If you're going to be angry at anyone for this, be angry with me."**_

 _"Master...I...I'm not angry...Just...really tired..."_ Seras pictured suddenly that distant memory from thirty years ago, her Master's eyes all closing. It took a second for her to realize why it was there, and she sucked in a literal breath as she did, causing her to cough and hack up more of her precious bodily fluids.

 _ **"Easy now, Seras."**_ Alucard whispered back to her, his voice betraying a strange emotion. _**"You're going to be okay. You're going to be fine as long as you stay awake. STAY AWAKE, Seras!"**_ He commanded, forcing her senses into painful sharpness, ears ringing with the force, but allowing her suddenly to hear the rustle of leaves as Lukas shifted beside her. He was saying something.

"We need to take her back. She won't make it much longer if she stays here. Come, Alucard! We need to- what are you doing?!"

"My blood should bring her back, shouldn't it?" He said this as non-chalantly as possible, but both Seras and Lukas knew his calmness was a facade.

"But, Sir, your bond-"

"Bond be damned, Lukas! _She's dying_." Alucard hissed the last part, and Seras, though only half-conscious, felt his energy surge.

 _"Master, don't. I know...I know how bad it looks, but it's not that bad...I...don't want to...lose you...like that..."_

 _ **"You won't. Not if I only give you a tiny bit. Just enough for you to recover from the shock long enough to remove the arrow. If we take it out now, you'll bleed to death before we can get back to the village. Now, drink."**_

Seras was only half-aware of her body being manipulated into an upright postion, the action sending a rather dull sting through her injury. She tried to open her eyes, but only seen a blurr of red. In the next second, she quite hazily registered the feeling of something soft and delicate pressint against her lips with an inviting kind of dampness, her tongue tenatively reaching from it's sticky confines to taste the metalic substance. She drank it down, the taste mixing with her own blood into a kind of bittersweet concoction that reminded her wierdly of coffee. She felt some energy seeping back into her, but not quickly, her senses only marginally regaining their edge. After a second, the fluid stopped flowing into her mouth, urging her tongue to seek out more, some baser instinct demanding she drink more of it. She was quite startled to find, however, the presence of a foreign object within her orfice which bore a stark resemblance to her own. Had she not been half-dead, she might have blushed at the realization he'd given her his blood by mouth, but instead decided to go with it for now, because her life sort of depended on it.

 _"Why is it every time we kiss, it seems to be when I least expect it?"_

 _ **"There's my Seras."**_ Seras could hear the smile in his voice, and offered a very weak one of her own, realizing on the way that their "kiss" if you could call it that had been broken.

 _ **"Relax now. Your heart was narrowly struck. If we get the arrow out of you, you'll be okay."**_

 _"Can I sleep now?"_

 _ **"Yes, love. You can sleep now."**_ Seras only narrowly caught the strange title before letting herself drift away into a much less daunting-looking darkness. Her last thought before she slept was _'I wonder if Alucard can even feel love...'_

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 **Alright, interesting, no? Just wait. The AluSeras is coming on big time in the next few chappies, with any luck. Just be patient.**

 **Now, I get to again revel in the joy of exclaiming the most fun word on the planet-**

 **ASTERISKS!**

 ***Alucard's wife/Mina getting herself killed:** _I am working under the assumption that her death is mysterious and that no one really knows how she died except maybe Alucard. The public masses assume she was killed, in this case, by Van Hellsing when he captured Alucard, since at that time Mina was already changed. (As is implied, perhaps, in the series.)_

 ****worms invading her body:** _This is a sensation caused by a medical occurance whereby a blood vessel expands beyond it's normal capacity (as can happen with trauma) and tries to shrink. A similar feeling apparently happens when the valves/pumps in your arteries spasm. In this case, you can think of both happening as a result of her bodies reaction to the silver as well as the fact her heart was actually struck by the arrow._

 **Okay kiddies, you know the drill. Please, REVIEW for the next update. Until then!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for the wait - college is trying to drown me. :( But I am here now, so we're good.**

 **Okay, so...yes, AluSeras is the main pairing, and I know you are all waiting patiently for "the big moment"...but there are some plot bugs to work out of the woodwork first. After all, I didn't put all those other vampires in here as extras, or else I wouldn't have bothered naming and describing them. :L**

 **MOVING ON-**

 **WARNING: Some...trigger-ish stuff happens here. Angst is a given. Mentions of suicide/attempted suicide. Euthanasia/assisted suicide (NOT of our dearly beloved, just to be clear). Seras being a vampire.**

 **Going on with a song which rather befits this chapter, from an AluSeras perspective, but which completely contradicts the mood. Sorry.**

 **'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''**

 **CH XII**

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 _ **Please Don't Say You Love Me**_

 _By Gabrielle Aplin_

 _'''_

 _Summer comes, and winter fades,_

 _Here we are just the same._

 _Don't need pressure, don't need change,_

 _Let's not give the game away._

 _There used to be an empty space,_

 _A photograph without a face,_

 _But with your presence and your grace,_

 _Everything falls into place._

 _..._

 _Just please, don't say you love me,_

 _'Cause I might not say it back-_

 _Doesn't mean my heart stops skippin' when you look at me like that;_

 _There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at,_

 _Just please, don't say you love me,_

 _'Cause I might not say it back._

 _..._

 _Heavy words are hard to take,_

 _Under pressure precious things can break,_

 _And how we feel is hard to fake,_

 _So let's not give the game away._

 _'''_

 _Just please, don't say you love me,_

 _'Cause I might not say it back-_

 _Doesn't mean my heart stops skippin' when you look at me like that;_

 _There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at,_

 _Just please, don't say you love me,_

 _'Cause I might not say it back._

 _'''_

 _And fools rush in,_

 _And I've been the fool before-_

 _This time I'm gonna slow it down,_

 _'Cause I think this could be more -_

 _The thing I'm looking for..._

 _'''_

 _Just please, don't say you love me,_

 _'Cause I might not say it back-_

 _Doesn't mean my heart stops skippin' when you look at me like that;_

 _There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at,_

 _Just please, don't say you love me,_

 _'Cause I might not say it back.(x2)_

 _'''_

 _Just please, don't say you love me,_

 _'Cause I might not say it back..._

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Alucard rested atop his coffin, gnashing his teeth, feeling utterly frustrated. His Childe had been shot, a risk he logically knew could happen anytime they did anything involving hostile vampires. It was just a job hazard, one he'd thought he'd come to accept. But Seras had been shot, not with a gun, but an _arrow._

It was different, somehow.

Any idiot could shoot a gun and expect to hit at least fifty percent of the time, especially with a semi-automatic. But his Childe hadn't been hit by some bumbling fool with poor aim. She'd been deliberately _shot_ with an _arrow_. That took discipline. That took skill.

That took just a certain kind of deliberation to make him almost assume it was personal.

And it was this single line of thought that somehow persuaded Alucard to do what Alucard _never_ did.

Fret.

Alucard didn't _fret_ over anything. Brood, maybe. But he didn't fret, and as far as his pride was concerned, he never had. But he was struggling, futilely, not to have some gut-twisting sense of unease about this. Being shot by a gun was one thing. It was a machine, a simple contraption that made killing people - human or otherwise - more efficient. It was mechanical, and metal, and made in a far away place that had no bearing on the life of it's user, usually.

But a bow and arrow? That was a personal weapon. Many archers made their own bows, and judging by the strip of blessed silver he held in his hand, pulled out of Seras this morining, this person had made at least his own arrows. There was way too much imprecision in the way the metal had been bent for it to be mechanical. This vampire made his own weapon, and used it just the same - as if it were a part of himself. Just like any good archer should.

And that disturbed Alucard.

 _'The question is, was it an attack on her, on me, or on Lukas and his vampiric church?'_ Alucard's brows furrowed as he considered this idea. He highly doubted anyone would have any good reason to go after his fledgling personally. She was new here, and besides which, the arrow missed it's mark. Now, there could be multiple reasons for that, from shitty arrows - which seemed unlikely, after he'd inspected the one pulled from Seras. The arrow had been made to fly perfectly, by someone skilled in this trade. So that rather ruled out crap arrows. But then, there were the two other possibilities-

One, that he'd had poor aim or was too far away, which was at least somewhat plausible, considering how dense the undergrowth had been. Seras also turned at the last second, which might've thrown off his original aim.

However, the more feasible option, and by far the most disturbing, was the theory that someone as skilled at arrow making as that, who was probably as good of an archer as that, _hadn't missed at all_. Maybe he'd been intending to narrowly miss her heart, to put her out of commision without killing her- the question was, why? To what end?

The answers he came up with only served to agitate him more.

 _'Because the target was never her. It was_ me _.'_

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Lukas exited the room from checking in on a sleeping Seras, affectionate smile dropping. His thoughts on this predicament were all mixed up- he knew there were two vampires there just before Seras had showed, and then when she did, rather than shooting Lukas, who was struggling with his partner, the man had instead gone straight for Seras' heart, and didn't even give Lukas a glance.

That was, until Alucard showed up.

The vampire that had been holding a gun to Lukas' throat had been shot promptly, but the other had escaped before his Lord could deliver a decisive blow. Stranger, the man had been wearing a hood, and had most of his body covered in pale cotton cloths so that neither Lukas or Alucard could identify him before he bolted out of there like a bat out of hell. But he had looked back at Lukas in his fleeing, and it was then that he'd gotten a tiny glimpse of something that quite disturbed him.

A lock of strange colored, blonde-ish hair.

He was quick to dismiss it, but the color had been uncannily similar to Duma's...But that wasn't possible. Duma was one of the most gentle vampires he knew, even if he wasn't fangless. For Christ's sake, he'd never even seen Duma angry, never mind hostile...And Cedric, though knowing how to wield a bow, could barely hit a target when it was still, never mind a live, moving one. He also was the farthest from being violent that Lukas could imagine a person to be. In fact, the only ill-tempered person he knew was Ariel, and though he had quite a short fuse, his fire usually died before anyting went boom. Ariel was a wounded man, one who'd felt a lot of pain in his life. And while he did have some bones to pick with the King, he'd never go after Seras just for that. Vengefulness wasn't part of his character, and though he could certainly hold a grudge, he wasn't violent. Angry and loud, maybe, but he'd never hit anyone, not even Evaine, and those two had been reknowned in this place for their constant bickering.

Lukas sighed, looking up at the big gold cross above him where he stood before the altar. That left Hamlet, who he could hardly imagine hurting anyone that didn't push him over the edge, and Aurelein, who wasn't any less demur. In fact, he'd place any wager that Hamlet would probably snap long before Aurelein did. The man was the epitome of patience, as evidenced by the work he was presently doing with their stray dog upstairs - the Childe with no Sire.

"What are you doing?" Lukas turned to look at Alucard casually, having sensed his presence milliseconds before he'd voiced himself. It was a practiced skill, to be able to sense someone for such a short amount of time and remain calm enough to face them as if unperturbed. A skill Lukas admitted he was proud of.

"Actually, I was just on my way to see how Aurelein was doing with our stray Childe upstairs. From what I have been told, the Childe is not doing well." Lukas informed him non-chalantly, heading toward the stairs. "You are welcome to come along, if you like. I had intended on introducing your own to him - not to scare her, of course, but merely to show her that these things happen. But as she is rather out of commission - and happily sleeping, I might add - I can no longer do this."

"And bringing me would do what, exactly?" Lukas shrugged casually, but Alucard could tell it was forced. He was being given a front.

"Who knows." Lukas said quietly after a moment, Alucard following him up the stairs out of curiosity. "You might snap some sense into him where the rest of us have failed." Alucard followed Lukas down the long corridoor, walking through the filtered sunlight with a quiet sense of relief. He really did miss the warmth of the sun sometimes.

They went farther down the hall, past his temporary room, and up another very narrow flight of stairs that lead up to a third floor he didn't even know existed. As they rounded a corner on the upper landing, they turned to face a long, narrow hallway. There were fewer, smaller windows, and no carpet whatsoever on the floors, only a thick film of dust that had been patted down from use onto dry, cracking wood. The scent of rats hit his nose, and be began to wonder why they were keeping this supposedly distraught Childe in such a poor place. He'd be pretty wretched too, if he was kept up here, he sympathized.

He followed Lukas silently to an old, dilapadated door that sat against the interior wall at the end of the hall, it's old, dark wood stripped with pitch and mold, the edges splitting and cracking distressingly.

"Why is he being held in a place like this?" Alucard asked.

"The room inside sits against one of the front windows- there is considerably more light in there during the day, and much more visible moonlight at night." Lukas explained as he casually opened the door, which made a horrible screeching noise with it's badly rusted hinges. "We had hoped the increase in light would be beneficial, since the opposite had no effect that we could tell."

"So you're basically experimenting with him at this point?" Lukas shot Alucard a strange look.

"I suppose you could put it that way," Lukas replied cautiously. He turned around and walked into the room, Alucard following suit.

The room was much more spacious than Alucard expected, with a warm, bright glow coming from one of the tinted glass windows to the right of the room. The floor was still dusty and barren of any covering besides the plywood it was made from, but it's pale color did wonders to reflect the light and make the room appear brighter. In the far left corner of the massive room was a pitch-black coffin, a newer model that was highly polished- a sign of new age, good care, or as Alucard suspeced, lack of use.

In the center of the room was a comfy-looking wooden chair that faced the window, it's back curved and at an easy recline. It was almost enough to make Alucard miss his throne.

Beside the chair was Aurelein, his mousy hair ruffled in it's usual unkempt style. He held a small book in his hands and was busily scribbling in it when Lukas entered, and hadn't seemed to notice they were there.

Lukas suddenly kicked the ground, vibrating the floorboards and alerting Aurelein to their presence, his big eyes scanning over Alucard with confusion before turning to Lukas and signing some sort of question. Lukas replied, voicing his signs.

"It has to be better than letting him kill himself." Lukas replied. Aurelein set his book down beside the chair, giving Alucard a suspicious once-over before signing something back urgently. Lukas turned to Alucard thoughtfully for a second, a sadness creeping into his gaze.

"If it doesn't help, we do as we agreed upon. In fact, I may be tempted to allow Alucard to do it, since you're already too attatched." Lukas spoke while signing, his voice unusually stern. Despite being unable to hear, Aurelein must have recieved some kind of cue from his expression, for he ducked his head submissively, pulling his hands to his chest insecurely. Lukas walked forward, prompting Alucard to follow, upon which he noticed a figure sitting in the chair. He ignored it for now, watching Lukas come around and place a gentle hand on Aurelein's shoulder. The mousy-haired vampire turned his face to look at Lukas sadly, glancing down at the figure in the chair with a distressed expression. Lukas only shook his head, and Alucard could tell he'd missed some sort of silent conversation happening between them. His suspicions were further confirmed when Lukas did something that quite surprised Alucard, considering that there was no obvious relation between the two, and pulled Aurelein's face forward before touching his own forehead affectionately to the younger vampire's. The gesture was bizarrely intimate, and made Alucard simultaneously uncomfortable and intrigued.

Alucard turned his gaze away from the two, focusing now on the figure - presumably the Childe- sitting in the chair. The first thing Alucard noticed about the vampire was his expression, which seemed, for lack of a better term, disconnected from the world around him, his eyes vacant and face blank. Long, messy black hair framed his face, the tendrils tangled and unkempt. His irises were probably once a gorgeous shade of dark red, but had paled and become cloudy from lack of blood. His skin, too, looked sick, a the bluish cast of his complexion contrasting with the reddish light from the window and making him appear as though he were a hologram, almost, the tint created from the contrasting colors making his skin look artificial, like paper - and probably just as frail.

"So this is the Masterless Childe. He looks absolutely pathetic." Alucard remarked. Rather than take offence to this, as he'd expected, though, Lukas moved to stand before the Childe, apparently having sent Aurelein off.

" _Hei,_ " Lukas spoke to the child, switching over to Romanian. The Childe offered no response, not even a flicker of movement or the batting of an eyelid. It was almost as if he was dead.

"You can't keep doing this forever. You'll die if you do." Lukas spoke to the Childe in Romanian, his voice calm an level. Still, the Childe did not respond. Lukas dropped to a crouch, trying to make eye contact.

"I know you don't want our help. I know you would rather be left alone. But if you don't eat or sleep soon, you will invariably die. And we don't want that to happen - because we feel like you have a lot that you can give us, and it would be a pity for it to be wasted." Lukas explained. There was a long, drawn-out moment in which time seemed to stop, before the Childe finally let out a slow, owlish blink. It was the only movement he made, though, and after it had passed, he returned to his death-like state - without moving, without blinking, without even breathing. He simply sat there, like a still, silent doll, unthinking, unmoving, and unreal.

"Let him die, then." Alucard spoke up after a minute of deafening silence had passed. Lukas turned to look at him with a sad expression, hope glimmering in his maroon orbs, though Alucard could tell somehow that even Lukas knew it was futile. The vampire sighed, lids closing resignfully.

"I know how silly it must seem, to someone like you. To let him continue living in this self-tormenting state. But I am a doctor, Lord Alucard. I work to save people. Until I know for sure there is no hope of rehabilitating him, I won't let him go." Lukas defended, voice quiet. Alucard only blinked at him.

"You already know, though, don't you? That there's no saving him. You wouldn't have invited me up here if you weren't out of options." Alucard replied. To this, miraculously, the Child turned his cloudy gaze, eyes turning to Alucard without really focusing on him. He gave the air a tenative sniff, before falling back into the same lifeless position as before. Lukas watched the Childe with surprise, which quickly turned to meloncholy, his jaw setting hard. Lukas pulled in a deep breath before sighing at length.

"I know." He replied, in English this time. He turned hopeful eyes on Alucard then. "I know I've asked too many favors of you already. But if I am allowed one more, I'd like it if you could try to get a response out of him. We have already tried everything - even...even violence doesn't make him react. It's as if he is a living doll." Lukas explained, gazing up at Alucard pleadingly. The older vampire simply shook his head.

"We both know that talking isn't going to help. Anyone at this level of distress is better off dead. There's no escaping that - and you know it. You know that keeping him like this is inhumane, but do so because you are too compassionate to put him down." Lukas flinched at Alucard's harsh words, feeling all the world like a scolded Childe himself. He bowed his head to Alucard, his King, in submission, feeling his heartstrings vibrate sickeningly with the honesty of his Lord's statement. Arvin had been right about that, at least - Alucard really was brutally forward with his thoughts, be them subjective opinions or objective pieces of advice. Lukas sighed, standing.

"Do you want me to handle this?" Alucard said almost sardonically, a wicked grin tugging slowly on his face. The opportuninty was just too perfect to resist, and as good as Lukas was, there weren't many souls who hung around Alucard for long without being subjected to his mockery wherever he seen the opportunity. It was a very effective way of asserting dominance and ensuring no one messed with him openly. The fact he was often accused of being a "bully" for doing so didn't dissuade him in the least.

"Yes, M'lord. I will leave you to do as you feel is best from here." Lukas spoke in a whisper, voice sounding plastic and distorted, as though he'd forced the words from himself and merely spoke them on seamless autopilot.

"Then you are dismissed." Alucard said curtly, turning to the Childe. He heard Lukas leave, and could sense his reluctance to do so. Once he was safely gone, the old vampire let out a sigh.

 _'At least it's not mine.'_

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Seras stirred from her slumber to the sound of glass clinking softly, opening bleary, sticky eyes to see what was making the noise. As her vision came into focus, she was relieved to see her Master sitting beside her- though where, exactly, she was, she hadn't determined yet.

"Mmmm..." Seras groaned, her throat stuck and dry as dust, making vocalizing difficult. She opted to huff instead, trying to make some kind of sound to catch his attention, which was centered on something in his lap. Between the two, it seemed to work, and he dragged surprisingly tired-looking eyes up to greet hers, though there was little in the way of expression on his pallid face.

"You're awake, finally." For a moment, Seras had to wonder if she was in trouble for something, as his tone was flat and cryptic. Apparently sensing that he'd come accross the wrong way, Alucard took a breath, closing his eyes. He looked fatigued.

"You've been asleep for one of our six nights here. We have three left to find our perp, or we go home empty-handed." He explained grimly. "But," He conceded, expression becoming uncharacteristically soft for a moment as he raised his hand, gently touching Seras' hair. "You're well rested. And quite thirsty, as I imagine." At the mere mention of blood, Seras' throat clenched painfully with a ugly reminder that she was famished. Alucard could go days without eating, and feel just fine, and had been working at training Seras to be so robust in kind- but sadly, her stomach was naturally quite small, and as hard as she tried, she just couldn't hold as much "on reserve" as her Master did.

Nodding, she could feel her own pupils dilate when from seemingly nowhere he produced a tall, thin glass filled with none other than pretty, deliciously-smelling, red _blood_. Seras held back a whine, her tongue tearing from the gluetrap that had become her salivary glands to lick dry lips anxiously. She really wanted that blood.

"You want this?" He teased, cheshire smile creeping at the edges of his lips. Seras huffed again, swallowing painfully against the sandpaper that had lodged itself in her throat. She opted to flex her jaw, opening her mouth experimentally as she tried to un-stick everything. Who knew vampires could suffer from dehydration?

 _"Please, Master. I'm hungry. And thirsty. I need it."_

 _ **"Tell me something I don't know."**_ He chuckled darkly in her mind, purposefully tormenting her.

 _"What...what do I have to do for it?"_ She asked almost begrudgingly, knowing he wouldn't ease up without some prompting.

 _ **"Relax. You've done enough."**_ She blinked at his kidding tone. Since when did Alucard have an amicable sense of humor? Besides which, he really wasn't going to ask for something? This smelled fishy to Seras, but she ignored it for now, too focused on the blood her Master held tantilizingly out of her reach. It was then that she looked around, discovering that she was in their temporary room, lying propped up by many pillows inside her coffin. Glancing around (and purposefully avoiding looking at the blood) she seen Casull lying particularly prone on the vanity table, brow quirking.

"You probably don't remember anything after being hit with that arrow, but your archer escaped. Lukas and I have been reconciling to find out who would dare put an attack on you, especially if they knew your relation to me - which is probable in a place like this - but keep coming up empty handed. No leads, and no evidence he was even there - he even somehow avoided leaving tracks." Seras absorbed this information slowly, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she did so, feeling a yawn tug at her.

"But we can discuss that later. For now, you need to drink something. You lost a lot of blood yourself." He held the glass out to her, and Seras wasted no time at all snatching it from him like a greedy toddler, downing it with a growl that leapt from her throat unbidden, feeling inexplicably quite defensive of her meal, which some reptilian part of her brain told her was precious somehow.

After drinking it down in one go, she shamelessly lapped at the leftovers, body craving a larger, more substantial meal. Though she rarely preyed on live humans, there were times she did indulge in what she seen as a leisure - she worked hard to make sure it didn't become a habit, in any case, for vampires were, much to her disgust, quite like snakes. If they grow up on frozen food, they'll eat it with no complaint - but give them something live, and there's a chance that's all they wind up wanting to consume. In any event, she was craving live food, _fresh_ blood -

But she always did when she was hungry, now that she'd had a taste.

"There is more, you know." Alucard remarked dryly, smirking as he held up a blood bag. Seras now felt herself salivate, practically drooling. _How_ much blood, exactly, had she lost?

"There." He said, tossing her the bag, which she again wasted no time tearing into with fangs alone, downing the contents. As he handed her yet another, she began to calm, her thirst abating slowly.

"Are we going to be nice now?" He said with a smug expression, handing her the next bag as he fearlessly reached into her coffin to extract the empty bag. She blushed with the realization that she'd been leaning over her food like some depraved jackal, guarding it from him subconsiously.

"Sorry." She spit out after taking a large swallow of blood. "Didn't realize I was so hungry."

"Injuries will do that to you. It's one of the reasons why human vampire hunters are usually trained to be _very_ accurate in their aim, since merely wounding a vampire often results in them taking more lives than what they started out with." Seras paused in the midsts of sucking down the remains of a pruny blood pack, much more content with at least a partially full stomach. Honestly, she felt like she could keep drinking forever and never feel full at this point, but assumed that there was only so much to be had.

"Keep drinking if you want. Lukas offered to share as much as you needed, despite the reduction in his own supply. He seems to have found a new batch of willing donors, so he said that the difference shouldn't be too harmful." Seras lit up like a bulb at this, gladly taking another pack as it was offered. She paused halfway, pulling in a breath to speak.

"I feel like I could eat for days, and never be full." She explained, slouching as she sucked on the pack, delighting in it's sweet, salty taste.

"Perhaps live prey would suit, then." She paused in her drinking to look at her Master anxiously. He only smiled crookedly at her, shaking his head.

"But we'll come to that later. For now, drink."

And drink she did. While she hadn't hunted a human in years, she certainly felt as though she'd drained one (or a few...) by the time she was done - eleven packs later - and now rested, contentedly full to bursting, a sense of sleepiness coming over her again as she yawned.

"You still aren't fully recovered, and will need a few hours more to rest. It's midday right now. By the time the sun sets, you should feel well enough to move around." Seras rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands, nodding in agreement. As her Master rose to leave, though, a truly childish impulse struck her with a feeling she hadn't had in ages, making her gut sway suddenly as he turned to go. Sensing it, Alucard paused just as his Childe let out a microscopic whine, nearly invisible in the surrounding silence.

"Yes?" He asked, looking over his shoulder. Seras looked away, shifting uncomfortably. It was then that she moved entirely the wrong way, producing a raw, stabbing feeling in her chest intense enough to make her clutch it. Doubling over for a second, she didn't miss it when her Master turned wide eyes on her, before returning to her side like a protective dog.

"Is your injury bothering you?" He asked flatly, though Seras got the inkling there was something hidden underneath his suddenly too-cool gaze. She shook her head as the pain subsided, turning to once more find her Master a lot closer than she'd thought him to be.

Swallowing, she averted her eyes downward, shaking her head again for emphasis.

"Good". Was his reply. As he stood to leave again, though, another childish impulse shot through her, making her reach out to grasp his coat sleeve before she could stop herself. Thoughts catching up to actions, she blushed, knowing she needed an excuse. A good one, at that.

"What?" Alucard said, clearly trying to keep the snap from his tone. He got awfully crabby when tired, Seras reminded herself.

"I...Are you staying in here?" She blurted, blushing more furiously at the stupidity of her question. But rather than rebute her, her Master merely gazed down at her thoughtfully, a tiny crease of irritation marring his brow.

"I just...don't want to be alone right now." Seras defended weakly, voice hovering above a whisper. What she really wanted to say was _I trust you, and I want you to comfort me again despite the fact I know you won't, because I feel pretty shitty after being shot by God knows who, for whatever purpose...I don't feel safe, right now. And you...you feel safe._ Seras snapped her mind back into her head where it belonged, not meaning to let it drift astray. But looking up at her Master's surprised face, she immediately regretted allowning it to do so.

"Is that so?" Alucard said, a strange kind of smirk gracing his lips. Seras didn't have to guess what he was replying to, and suddenly felt the urge to hide. Her Master stared down at her in bewilderment.

"One moment, you find my presence comforting, the next you try to cower from me?" Alucard said, shaking his head. "Well aren't you a recipe of contradictions."

"I-" Seras blurted, defensive. It was short lived, though, and she returned her voice to a softer volume. "I don't like it when you're angry. Then, you frighten me. But I never seem to know what makes you mad on a day-to-day basis, so..." Seras cringed away from his intense gaze, which suddenly pinned her to her pillows. "But I still trust you. More than a lot of people, anyway. I...know you'd kill me if you had to, but I can't believe it wouldn't hurt you to do so." She continued, voice becoming bolder. "And as long as I know that, I'm okay with it. As long as I know...As long as I know that I _mean_ something to you, I don't really care if you kill me, or hurt me, or scare me... Caring is enough." She whispered the last part, the realization of her feelings shocking her almost as much as her Master, who's expression was pricelessly awe-struck. After a few moments, he blinked, looking down at Seras strangely.

"Come here." He said simply. Giving his face a quick glance to better determine his mood, she sat up straight, shifting towards him-

And was quite unexpectedly met with a kiss.

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 **WHOO! That was a rollercoaster to write. Hope you had fun? Hey, it ended on a happy note. Give me some credit for being considerate.**

 **Whelp, you all know how this goes- Please, REVIEW for the next chappie, which...well, let's just say you who've been hanging on the M rating will soon find what you might've been seeking from the start. (No shame in that. :) ) Until then!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I want to say thanks to you guys for giving me consistent feedback! It helps motivate me when I see how eager you are!**

 **WARNINGS: This would be where I once again remind you that this fic is rated M for a reason. While not superb at writing lemons, I do try (and will accept critique on the subject, if you so desire to give it, since it isn't my strongest point.) Nothing else too tragic in here.**

 **Going on with a song from a movie that, despite its crap rating, I loved, (** _ **Dracula Untold**_ **) and which is supposed to depict (from the perspective of a Mina stand-in) what it's like to be bitten by Dracula; the Latin lyrics describe Dracula (Vlad in the movie) as he is generally described in the film. It ALSO is kind of foreshadowing of the next chapter, but not really necessary. So, feel free to skip if mentally pronouncing latin is going to drive you nuts.**

 **''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''**

 **CH XIII**

 **''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''**

 _ **City of the Dead**_

 _By Eurielle_

 _..._

 _I'm scared of what's inside my head,_

 _What's inside my soul-_

 _I feel like I'm running, but getting nowhere-_

 _Fear is suffocating me,_

 _I can't breathe,_

 _I feel like I'm drowning, I'm sinking deeper-_

 _White light fades to red,_

 _As I enter the City of the Dead..._

 _..._

 _ **Rex tremendae majestatis,**_

 _(King of majesty tremendous)_

 _ **Qui salvandos salvas gratis,**_

 _ **(**_ _Who dost free salvation send us)_

 _ **Salve me fons pietatis,**_

 _ **Salve me fons pietatis,**_

 _(Fount of pity, then befriend us)_

 _(x2)_

 _'''_

 _I feel it burning through my veins,_

 _It's driving me insane-_

 _The fever is rising, I'm going under;_

 _Memories flash before my eyes,_

 _I'm losing time,_

 _The poison is killing me,_

 _Taking over-_

 _White light fades to red,_

 _As I enter the City of the Dead..._

 _..._

 _ **Rex tremendae majestatis,**_

 _(King of majesty tremendous)_

 _ **Qui salvandos salvas gratis,**_

 _ **(**_ _Who dost free salvation send us)_

 _ **Salve me fons pietatis,**_

 _ **Salve me fons pietatis,**_

 _(Fount of pity, then befriend us)_

 _(x2)_

 _ **...**_

 _ **Quantus tremor est futurus,**_

 _(Oh what fear man's bosom renders)_

 _ **Quando judex est venturus-**_

 _(When from heaven the Judge descends)_

 _(x2)_

 _'''_

 _ **Damnata, invisus,**_

 _(Damned, hated,)_

 _ **Ubique, ab omnibus,**_

 _(Everywhere, by everyone)_

 _ **Ad infinitum.**_

 _(Forever.)_

 _ **'''**_

 _ **Rex tremendae majestatis,**_

 _(King of majesty tremendous)_

 _ **Qui salvandos salvas gratis,**_

 _ **(**_ _Who dost free salvation send us)_

 _ **Salve me fons pietatis,**_

 _ **Salve me fons pietatis,**_

 _(Fount of pity, then befriend us)_

 _(x3)..._

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The shock of the kiss caught Seras completely off guard, having expected quite the opposite kind of response to her emotional outpour. She recovered quickly, however, and upon finding her mental bearings, closed her eyes and pressed back into his waiting lips, which, just like before, seemed to hesitate, to ask for permission, one might say. _'Who says chivalry is dead...well, I mean, technically we're both dead, but that isn't the point.'_ Seras thought absently, feeling his mouth start to move silently against hers, once more striking her with how soft and delicate it seemed to be. She felt the shape of his lips with her tongue, darting the appendage forth to trace them experimentally. He responded by deepening thier kiss, letting his own tongue come out from it's confines to dance with hers in a hypnotizing rythm that would have left her breatheless - had she actually needed to breathe.

Immediately, her body seemed to take on a mind of it's own, prompting her to reach her hands up to cup his face, fingers tracing his jawline as he shifted into a new position which allowed him to access some leverage, his kiss now coming down at her from an angle- which, if she where honest, made it feel more natural, what with him being considerably taller than her. His own gloved hands found her neckline, the silky material tracing the muscles of her neck with a whispering sound in her ear, the touch remarkably delicate for someone so strong. As his thumb came to caress her artery, she let out an involuntary shudder, her bite-scar from so long ago beginning to burn inexplicably - perhaps with the memory of the event that brought her here in the first place. But such thoughts were far from the forefront of her mind right then.

She felt her heartrate jump when his other hand appeared suddenly on her chest, stroking her collarbone, her shoulder, her upper ribs and sternum. She waited, a curiously excited sort of anxiety making butterflies flutter in her belly, for his fingers to trace lower, but was dissappointed when they returned to her collarbone, following along it's length until his thumb lightly traced the sensitive hollow of her throat. Having had quite enough of being explored, she opted to do some exploring herself - after all, it wasn't really fair if she got all the attention, was it?

She recalled his response to having his hair messed with before, and promptly traced her fingers up the sides of his face to tangle into the dark strands, feeling them fit over her hands like gloves yet again as she quietly reveled in the ridiculous softness of him. For someone so big and scary and fierce, he had a remarkably delicate sort of feel in her hands, as though if she moved wrong, she'd break the soft, tender skin she felt on his scalp beneath her nails, or that the gentle hands that had moved to her lower ribs (completely fore-going the one thing she'd honestly expected him to go for) would vanish as he tickled her sensually, tracing over each one with the grace of a feather.

As they continued kissing, with the pressure becoming harder by the moment, she released one hand from his hair, letting it fall down the back of his neck until it reached his broad shoulder, her fingers tracing his now, just as he had done before. He had substantially more clothing in the way, but she was satisfied when, upon tracing his throat, he let out a soft groaning noise. Suddenly, he shifted again, pushing her lightly with his hands- which, for the record, were quite dangerously close to her breasts - and encouraging her to lean back.

Seras' heart leapt into her throat as he did this, not really sure how far he planned on taking it. She obliged, though, out of curiosity (or so she told herself) and shifted so that she could lean back comfortably onto the pillows piled up in her coffin. A thrill ran up her spine and through her stomach as he followed as closely as he was able, using his arms to support himself as he leaned over her, kissing her deeply, slowly - sensually. _'I'll give him credit for knowing what he's doing. But where did this come from all of a sudden? As far as I'm aware, I didn't give off any kind of cues for this sort of thing...I don't think.'_ Seras wondered. Her pensive pondering was cut short, however, when she suddenly found his knee between her thighs - though he couldn't seem to get any more of himself into such a small space, it was enough to make his intentions known.

 _'Would he really sleep with me?'_ Seras mentally scoffed at her own question. _'Of course he would. The real question is - do I want to sleep with him?'_ If someone else had asked her right then, she'd of said yes, but knew that that was largely just her hormones talking. Of course she'd want him now, when they were in the middle of some intense snogging*, but would she still desire him later?

She didn't get much time to dwell on it, because right then a sharp, burning pain erupted in her chest, reminding her that her heart had been injured in their last escapade, and that she really needed rest. Letting out a cry of pain, though muffled by thier kiss, she pressed her hands on his shoulders urgently, warning him to stop. He obeyed immediately, having probably inferred what the noise was about or otherwise sensed her sudden discomfort.

"Are you alright?" He asked, and Seras had to take a moment to process the fact he wasn't breathing hard. _'well, no duh. He's a vampire too, dummy. Can't help it if your first time happened to be a human, I guess, but still.'_ Seras pulled a breath to speak. "I'm okay. Just got a little too excited, I think." She smiled up at him reassuringly, taking no heed of the way her words could be interpreted - not that they'd be false either way, and he knew it. "You need to rest for a while longer." He cautioned, removing himself from her space. She missed him immediately, but kept that wisely to herself. "I am going to go see if Ariel is back from his patrol. After you were shot, Lukas sent Ariel and Duma to go looking for the archer. They've been searching the surrounding woods all day, and should be back soon."

"Master?" Seras sqeaked, her voice not quite wanting to work right after that, though he largely seemed unaffected - a fact which irritated her for some reason.

"Yes?"

"Will...will you tell me if they find anything?" She asked quietly. He gave her a confused stare.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" He asked genuinely, brow furrowing.

"Nevermind it." Seras said, shooting him a beaming smile. "Thanks, Master Alucard." He quirked a brow at her further, but said nothing as he quietly backed out of the room, poking his head in a second later.

"Get some rest, Seras. I intend to come back around to what we were doing before, if nothing else comes before that." And with that, he closed the door and all but vanished. His words left her mind reeling a moment, before catching up to his meaning with a fervent blush on her cheeks.

 _'So he really did want that...Well, that could answer some questions about why he always got so upset about the guys flirting with me. Provided this has been a long-time thing...I mean, if it's just a spontaneous interest, then I don't honestly know what the hell to think of it.'_ Seras sighed. It was going to be a long night.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Alucard reflected upon the events that had just transpired as he walked casually down the hall, the afternoon sun having passed above the line of the windows so that it no longer streamed inside. It made the hall no cooler, though, and Alucard immediately felt the familiar south-Romanian heat as he stepped into the hallway. It wasn't especially hot, but certainly warmer than his typical basement home had been.

 _'What happened with Seras just now...'_ He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Ordinarily, he would have responded to an emotional outpour like that with a scoff - he had plenty of followers who would gladly tell him much similar things, proffering themselves before him with the honest belief that he cared. But Seras...he _did_ care about her. And he knew she cared for - and now knew with certainty that she loved him. _That_ , he did kind of scoff at, for now. She hadn't learned yet the kind of person he could be, and until she could otherwise prove that she could accept the parts of him no one else had, he would just pass off her affections as puppy love, or some such similarly shallow feeling. After all, all of his wives had either died or left him - and those that had done the latter often did so after encountering one side of him or the next that they hadn't anticipated on being there. For some, that was his vindictive, callous side. For others, it was only when he _stopped_ being a callous jerk that they became suspicious of his motives enough to leave him high and dry.

Women were complicated.

Speaking of wives...what had that been in there? He'd been compelled to kiss her becuase what she'd said had struck a chord in him somewhere - some place deep down, resonating within his human memories. Memories that could hardly be called so now, they were so outdated. But it had hit him deep down...and he had a funny feeling he knew why.

Vlad Tepes...that name hadn't truly been his own since he was reborn as the living dead. Yet, it was a name that held many things - among them, shockingly, was a family. A _human_ family. Now, he was pretty sure that Vlad had been no more able to reconcile this feeling called love then as he was able to now, as a vampire. But he wasn't certain that something along those lines hadn't been there before. _'I can no longer remember the faces of my wife or my child from then...but I remember their voices, sometimes, when I sleep. I remember the sound of my little boy crying. I remember the sound of my wife, lulling him to sleep. I've never given much credit to the dreams before, since they're just old memories. But maybe there was something she said...something my wife had told me, along the lines of what Seras said. It has to be. Doesn't it?'_ He didn't know. Feelings weren't his thing, nor words outside of a book - action had always been his forte. He'd always been the guy who got stuff done, who _did,_ instead of _debating_. But maybe...maybe there'd been a narrow strip in his timeline when he did feel those feelings, when he did know what love felt like, to some degree, at least. But no matter how he thought on it, it all felt wrong. He'd cared about his wife then, sure - but he got the nagging feeling that "love" just wasn't a word in his emotional vocabulary. At least, not love like that.

Alucard let out a deep sigh. He could brood about it later. For now, he had things to tend to - and a vampire to catch.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Seras rose from her coffin experimentally, standing up and stepping out of it on steady legs. She'd slept for a while, it seemed- she had a sense, somehow, that it was dark now - and felt better than ever. _'All that blood must've finally done it's job. I don't even feel fatigued.'_ Brimming with excitement over her freedom (she really did detest being bedridden) her energy quite abruptly switched gears to first alarm, when out of nowhere her Master decided to phase through the floor, then to unease once he fully materialized in front of her, her mind giving her no break from her recollection of the events that had recently transpired between them.

"Did they find anything?" She began, swallowing her nerves and supressing the voice in her head that was whispering soft, white fantasies into her distracted mind, pleading with her to start something in the event he didn't. But she ignored that voice, trying to stay objective first - she could worry about the subjectivities later.

"No. No traces, no tracks, even. It's like he completely vanished." Alucard said, his voice mildly agitated. "And no leads on the Night Child propogator either." Her Master sighed, pinching his brow- a sign he was tired, usually. A long moment passed between them in silence, Seras averting her eyes to the ground, unsure of what to say.

"I can see you're up and about. Are you feeling better?" He asked clinically, voice fairly dry as usual. Seras looked up at him breifly, noticing a shift in his stance that she just couldn't put her finger on, but which seemed...intentful. "Yes - actually, I haven't felt this well since I've been here, I think. All that blood must have done it's magic." She offered him a tenative smile, trying to conceal her nerves.

"Magic, huh?" He remarked almost sarcastically. She averted her gaze as he stepped toward her, pressing her chin to her chest, her healed heart flopping about like a stranded fish. A long, awkward pause ensued in which Seras expected to be touched - and upon that not happening, decided to look up at him tenatively.

Wrong move.

Or, rather, the right one, for he waited until her face was accessible to him to plant another kiss on her, though this one was not as gentle as before. His lips were still soft, but the kiss had a different kind of feel to it- it was more urgent, more wanting. Acting on impulse, she didn't hesitate to return the kiss, the pace rapidly catching up to whereabout they'd been before. As they did this, her Master pressed his hands tenderly to her abdomen, pushing her back again until she backed up against the wall behind her. The contact of the wall at her back sparked something in Seras, the reptilian part of her brain encouraging some involuntary images into her mind, making her flush red. This was made worse when his body came to meet hers, his knee once more falling between her legs as a none too subtle hint for her to spread them wider. One of his hands found its way to the back of her head, his fingers tangling into her hair as her own mirrored the action, tugging at his black mane experimentally. His response was to squish her against the wall with his body, his shape filling out her own seamlessly despite their height difference. Faced with an arguably exciting new prospect, her body acted before her brain, legs grappling onto him futilely, for she was rather at a height disadvantage, and thus couldn't quite reach his hips comfortably from her postion.

Seeing what she was after, Alucard wasted no time hoising her up by the hips, keeping her steady with his weight as he pressed into her, pinning her to the wall with his own as her legs eagerly wrapped around his waist. She made a soft noise as he broke the kiss, pulling away just long enough to find her jawbone, which he began to shamelessly trace with his tongue, kissing the soft skin at certain intervals. He kissed just beneath her jaw for a moment before sucking on the skin gently. It lasted for just a second, before he moved on to do the same to her neck, unclasping her uniform collar as he did so. The effects were positively stimulating - with just that, he had her writhing beneath him, letting out tiny sounds whenever he kissed a particularly sensitive part of her neck. Switching sides, he lathed his tongue over the scar where he'd bitten her, and was nearly giddy when he felt her shudder with a quiet, restrained moan, her head falling back automatically, encouraging him - begging him, _bite me, bite me._

It was a fairly normal response for a vampire to have in these situations. After all, they reproduced via biting- it made sense that whenever they were aroused, they'd want to either drink or be drank from- both of which could be almost as pleasant as sex in the right circumstance. As he nipped at her throat with his teeth, she let out a gasp, her grip on his waist tightening as the mixed smells of their arousal brought about a strong urge in him to fulfil her unspoken request to sink his fangs into her skin- but not yet. It was still too soon for that. She let out a not-so-quiet moan when he pressed his hips harder into hers, and he couldn't resist a chuckle.

"Look at you, being so naughty. This _is_ a Church, you know." He smiled against her throat before nipping it again, though this time it was just hard enough to draw blood. She let out a low groan as he lapped up the sanguine fluid, for the time completely shameless.

"Yeah?...What's that...make you?" She panted, stopping with each kiss he layed on her tingling skin. His kisses began to descend, first to her collarbone, then the hollow of her throat, then on down to her chest, making Seras quiver with anticipation.

"A sinner." He replied as he unexpectedly came back up, his lips pulling away from her completely for a moment. Confused, she went to ask what happened- but let out a moan instead when he rolled his hips against hers suggestively. He repositioned slightly, bringing her down lower, and repeated the action- which promptly gave her a "sizable" impression of just what lieth down there - or, rather what stood up.

"M...Master..." She didn't honestly know what she wanted to say, but said his name anyway. At once, his hands found her tender breasts, kneading them at first gently, but with increasing roughness until he seemed to find a pressure of his liking. He began to kiss her throat again, sucking on the skin sensually as he once more rolled his hips against hers, rubbing against her in such a way that left absolutely no doubt in her mind as to his initial intentions from earlier.

Seras had given the idea some thought before she'd gone to sleep, but had come up indecisive about her desire for her Master. She certainly wanted him now, though, and was so very tempted to give in to the dark, secret fantasies she sometimes imagined when she was completely alone, with nothing but her fingers to "entertain" herself with. But there was still that tiny voice in her head that warned her there might be consequences to this.

But, as usual, the voice was silenced when her Master shamelessly thrust his hips against her, his body naturally falling into a mock-rythm against hers, his body sliding over hers with the action, encouraging her to respond instinctively.

And respond she did.

Her body began to feel inexplicably hot, her fingers pulling his hair enticingly, pulling him closer, pressing his mouth onto her skin harder - another silent plea to bite, perhaps. He obliged by nipping her again, hands tracing her sides before falling to grasp her just below the arse, supporting her weight and enouraging her to spread wider at the same time, his thumbs putting pressure on the hollow of her hips arousingly. She responded to this, along with his rythmic moving, by pressing her hips back against his _hard_ , her legs squeezing him like a vice. Figuring this show needed to get on the roll, lest she lose her mind, Seras began grappling at her own clothing, undoing the buttons of her uniform hastily, but with care - Integra would have a fit if she ruined it, most likely.

Her Master was more than willing to assist, and upon his fingers tracing the waistband of her shorts, her own hands froze, not quite expecting the move. She recovered quickly, moving her hands to help him- only to have them brushed aside. Confused, she went with it, instead reaching out to divest him of his own clothing. She had but gotten his coat open when she felt his fingers dip into her shorts, forcing the zipper down where he had successfully unclasped them. She felt herself freeze up again almost on reflex, and Alucard smiled against her skin. He moved his fingers away for a second, coming back with his hand twisted around to better feel her out. A delightful sigh escaped Seras' lips as he deliberately traced his fingers over her nethers, pushing her panties aside to maneuver his fingers as deftly as he was able in the confined space, searching for the smallish nub that would make this a worthwhile experience for the both of them- after all, the more prep time, the more smoothly things tended to work.

For reasons he could not explain, he felt the urge to take it slower this time- but then, if he could learn on the fly what she liked and what she didn't, he reasoned, maybe he could convince her to come back to him later. He grinned against her throat as he thought this. That would be nice, yes.

He found what he was looking for beneath his middle digit, and wasted no time toying with the sensitive spot, rolling the rounded nub between his fingers deftly, grinning like a fool when she squirmed against him, harsh, panting sighs escaping her lips with every stroke as she all but melted beneath his touch. But it still wasn't enough.

After toying with her for a few minutes, she suddenly grabbed his arm, claws extending into his flesh. He didn't wince, but drew back to look at her face, wondering curiously if he'd hurt her somehow. However, he found not pain etched onto her face, but a stunning expression of need, her cheeks rosy and lips parted with every reflexive breath, breasts moving up and down as she did so.

"Well, aren't you quite a sight when you're like this. I mean, you were attractive before- but if this is the picture those perverts get in their heads when they try to imagine bedding you, I can't say I blame them for trying their hand." Seras looked at him strangely as he said this, her face blooming into a vivid scarlet. "Don't...don't talk about things like that when we're in the middle of this. It ruins it." She panted, pulling him down for another kiss, her lips moving with demanding animation against his own. Surprised by her sudden enthusiasm, he let her take control of the kiss for a moment, curious what sort of moves the had of her own. She kissed him with hunger, hands fisting into his hair almost aggressively as she did so. Holding still for the moment, he let her take the lead, feeling her move against him of her own volition, grinding her hips against his as she once more tried to devest him of his coat. He helped, shrugging out of it easily. With no time to waste, she swiftly began trying to unbutton his undershirt as well, though she was having a little trouble. Chuckling into their kiss, he decided he might as well help her with that too, taking charge of the kiss once more as he moved.

Once divested of both shirt and coat, he helped her get out of hers, pulling her away from the wall to do so. Once on her feet, she broke the kiss, hands sliding down to his neck. She drew back to look at him, and her expression said it all.

 _Move. Floor. Now._

But Alucard was a little too unorthodox for that. He kissed her again after successfully removing her shirt, hoisting her up onto his hips as he carried her over to where his coffin lie, lid closed. Seras drew back with a confused stare for a second upon arriving there, but caught on when he laid her down on top of the lid.

"I really don't like doing this on the floor. Not enough room to manuveur up or down as needed." He breifly explained. He purposefully left out that with past lovers, he hadn't really cared where they'd done it- but those people had been little more than sexual outlets for him, toys to - literally - fuck around with and then toss the next day ; or, if they happened to be human, eat.

But Seras wasn't a fucktoy- as much as people frequently assumed she was - in fact, she'd shown no signs of taking a sexual interest in him at all up until recently. Not that he was going to complain - besides his tryst with Integra, he hadn't slept with anyone in a good sixty years. He was itching for release, and would be damned thrice over if he skipped out on the opportunity his own Fledgling was presenting him with- consequences be damned.

Other articles of clothing were serruptitiously removed until all that remained were Alucard's own trousers- which he only kept on because, though he knew Seras was no virgin lamb anymore, he just couldn't shake the feeling that sex was still an uncomfortable territory for her - not that he could blame her, really. As much as he wanted to carry on quickly, he also knew that if he moved too fast, she'd bolt, and he'd lose his chance. So, in the name of giving his underutilized - and otherwise useless - reproductive organs a break, he kept his patience tied behind a paper-thin line. But if things continued at this pace, he wasn't sure how long it would be until that line was crossed and the threshold on his boundaries became obsolete.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. Seras, heart racing like a horse, let her hands explore his exposed skin experimentally, stroking his chest and shoulders before drawing a sensual line down his abdomen, continuing on down unitl her fingers brushed his navel. He sighed as she did this, giving her a clue that it felt nice. Predictably, her hand then jumped to the band of his pants, toying with it nervously, her hand beginning to shake. He grasped it in his own, his eyes meeting her hazy ones as he cupped her face with his other hand, thumb stroking her cheek. No words were exchanged between them, but as he watched the emotions, ranging from lust to anxiety, flicker in her gaze like candlelight, he felt her calm. Taking a deep breath, she found her resolve, pushing her hand out of his and beneath his waistband cautiously.

Hoping to entice her further, he peppered her chest with kisses, pausing only when she grasped his member in her hand. He struggled to control his impulse to thrust right then, taking a breath of his own. Seemingly ecouraged by his response, she began to stroke him, feeling out his girth and length, perhaps in mental preparation for the physical act.

She stopped just before he was about to warn her, and pulled her hand back just enough to push at his trousers, asking silently that he remove them. He more than gladly obliged, choosing to ignore the way she seemed to purposefully avoid looking at the member she had been holding not moments ago. Some women were like that, he knew. And given how new the experience was to her still, he imagined, she probably knew that if she gazed upon him that she was likely to turn tail and run.

The thought almost made him smile.

"Are you ready for this?" He asked, out of courtesy more than anything. He was going to have her either way, but honestly couldn't wait much longer- his impulse control wasn't _that_ superb. At her shallow nod, he shifted to move over her, using one arm above her head to support himself as he pushed her thigh with the other. Leaning down to her ear, he breathed against her skin, whispering. "Spread them wider. I won't fit like this." She turned the color of a strawberry, but gladly did as asked, spreading her legs as wide as they would go. Her hands kept busy kneading his shoulders, one finding it's way back into his hair as he reached between them to position himself, careful to move her folds out of the way- the last thing he needed right now was for her to shove him back out because he'd pinched her.**

Seras let out a sigh as she felt him sink into her, spreading her apart until she thought something would tear. It burned a bit, but not as bad as the first time, and she bore with it until he had sunk himself seemingly to his satisfaction, stopping for a solid twenty seconds to wait for her to adjust to his size- which she had to admit was considerably larger than her previous one-time lover. Once he was satisfied with the time, he shifted his weight, pulling back before thrusting back in a little sharper than she'd anticipated. Gasping as he picked up a steady rythm, she threw back her head back in a silent moan of appreciation as his head scraped against her inner muscles pleasantly. At once her body felt both wound like a spring and limp as a wet noodle, creating a delicious kind of conflict that matched perfectly with his rythmic thrusting, the pattern escalating in intensity as he picked up the pace.

"Ah," She panted when his hands again found her breasts, squeezing them in time with his movements and sending Seras into another world - one where time didn't beat on in seconds, but quick, and getting quicker, movements of her lover's hips, his lips coming down on her throat again just as a tingling feeling erupted from her bite scar again.

He nipped at her flesh once before simply holding the skin of her neck between his teeth, biting hard enough for it to hurt, but not enough to draw blood. As he picked up the pace farther, he heard her groan lowly.

"Ha...Harder..." She breathed, head going back once more in a tantilizing way, encouraging him to sink the fangs at the threshold of her skin into the tender blood vessels below. But not yet. It was still too soon for that.

"Harder!" She demanded in frustration, bucking her hips back against his with each thrust. His concerns about hurting her flew out the window when he regisered just how hard she was pushing back on him. _'She likes it rough. Fine by me.'_ He gladly obeyed her command, thrusting into her sharply, driving forward with a simultaneous increase in speed. She moaned contendedly, back arching off the coffin and providing a new angle at which he could hit her inner walls. He shifted slightly to and fro, hoping to hit a particular spot - wherever it happened to be, for women often had different ones between them - that would sweeten the ordeal even more. _'My goal is that once I'm done here, she'll keep coming back for more. In order to assure that though, I can't risk leaving her undersatisfied. Hm, what's a guy to do?'_ He phrased the question sarcastically in his head, smirking against her skin once more.

The hand that had been fondling her breast suddenly traveled south, his body arching up to make room as his fingers traced over that magical little nub of flesh that possessed, by powers he didn't want to consider, the ability to drive almost any woman mad with lust if used properly. And, true enough, his Fledgling let out a deep, sultry moan as he delicately fondled the tiny organ, rubbing his thumb over the tender flesh just above it, so that he wasn't touching it directly - he'd gotten a boring lecture from a lover prior on how much that hurt, and had never really given the idea consideration before now. However, seeing the way Seras was responding to the double sensation, with her thighs twitching minutely on either side of him, he decided to mentally catalogue the intel for later usage.

He paused in his rubbing when he felt the long-absent surge from his gut that told him he was getting close. Bracing his hands on either side of her now, he thrust hard and fast, keeping her steady with one arm above her shoulder on one side and one below on the other. He hadn't recalled when he'd let go of her neck, but leaned down to take the skin between his teeth again, her fingers clawing at the back of his own with fervor enough to make him bleed. He didn't especially notice this at first, and continued on, intent on meeting the end he had sought from the beginning.

Some deep, instinctual part of him threw a red flag in his face when her claws curved into his flesh quite noticably, some baser instinct telling him that if he didn't bite her, _she_ was going to bite _him_. The fact that this had happened before made the instinct that much stronger, and without giving her a single moment to consider sinking her fangs into any part of him, promptly sunk his own into her neck, right about where he'd bitten her before. She moaned shamelessly as he did so, body spasming around his length as he, too found his release with a breathy sigh he exulted through his nose, his mouth far too busy savoring the taste of her blood to pay much mind to anything else. Seras too, seemed to be enjoying the high which was characteristic of their bite - provided, of course, one was relaxed.

The oxytocin released post-orgasm made one as relaxed as he was aware was possible, and had the added effect of boosting the high experienced by the bite - a real win for a vampire who was looking to drink from someone without causing them greivious pain. Still, it was traditonal, in a sense, for vampires to bite each other when mating - after all, arousal triggered the urge, and sometimes vice-versa for younger vampires. (Yet another reason mating with thier prey was common- young Fledglings could often be seen getting quite hot under the collar from their first feeding, though Seras had opted for the more stubborn route and thus avoided that awkward scenario purely out of the situation she was in. Go figure.) She clung to him, hands fisting in his hair again as he drank from her, tongue lapping at her skin inside his mouth as he did so, delighting in having bitten her. The taste of blood and smell of sex combined to form a drug all it's own for him, making him relax more than he had in a long time, muscles wanting desperately to collapse upon his bedpartner. But, he knew better, and shifted so as to pull out of her reluctantly, his sticky seed spilling from her in a way that he knew would be a pain in the ass to clean off his coffin later - but for now, he didn't care, and, keeping his fangs on her throat in case she happened to spin and try to bite him herself, shifted off of her and around to her side, standing up as he did so. His hands clasped her jaw, brushing against it with his fingertips - a move that was as sensual as it was practical, for he could sense the tension in her jaw that told him it wasn't safe yet to let go of her - she'd spin an bite him back in a heartbeat.

It wasn't as though she could help it, he reminded himself. It was a strong instinct for a vampire to bite during sex, and the act served multiple functions - what with vampires not being able to sexually reproduce, the only reason they ever really mated was for pleasure and for pair-bonding purposes. As drinking from each other was in itself a bonding act, it made sense that those who sought a lifelong bond would bite durning sex, which was itself intimate. Somewhere along the lines, though, nosferatu developed the quirk of wanting to bite no matter what the reason they were having sex - which was kind of annoying in situations like this, in which one couldn't be allowed to bite the other for one reason or the next. But then, he supposed that's why the urge to be bitten also existed in these situations - for those times when it wasn't rational to allow mutual blood exchange.

As the tension in her jaw ceased, Alucard released his Fledgling, drawing away quickly in the slight event he'd miscalculated. Small amounts of his blood would do nothing to her- but if she landed a good hit on him with her fangs, he knew she was just as capable as him of taking quite a large yield in a fairly short amount of time. Such a yeild would ultimately sever the bond they had as Sire and Childe, officially turning Seras Victoria into an "adult" vampire. It was a day he knew would have to come eventually - and ideally at Seras' discretion - but he conceeded to himself that it probably wasn't wise to let her take his blood like this, in the heat of passion - she'd likely come to regret it later, and he simply hadn't the resounding patience to deal with it.

He watched her eyes come back into clear focus as the high wore off, her fingers tracing the place he'd bitten her absently. A stretch of comfortable silence followed as they both came back into coherence.

"That was...interesting," She said, voice soft with wonder.

"Interesting?" He inquired, brow quirked.

"I've never felt the urge to bite that badly before. I mean, when I had a human lover, sure, I wanted to, but with a full belly I could ignore it...But this time...Even with eleven blood packs in me, I still wanted to drink from you." She explained, voice far-away as she thought.

"That's normal at first. But if we do this consistently, your body should get used to being the recipient of the bite instead of the biter, and the urge will subside." He explained casually. She stared at him with an unreadable expression for a moment.

"If we do this consistently?" She whispered, blinking at her own statement, brow rising.

"You didn't think this was a one-time affair did you, Seras?"

"W-well, no, but -"

"Then it's decided." He grinned. Seras rolled her eyes at him cheekily, puffing out a breath.

"If you say so, Master."

It was his turn to quirk a brow at her, but she said nothing more, closing her eyes.

"Can I take another nap?" She asked whistfully. His smile softened as he touched her hair affectionately, prompting her to peek up at him with one eye.

"I'll give you a half an hour. Lukas is expecting us downstairs in one. I'll come back to fetch you then." He said, his clothes somehow appearing back on him without him touching them. Seras blinked. When had that happened?

"Where are you going?" She asked, sitting up.

"I have one final piece of business to take care of. I'll be back. " And with that, he left, phasing through the wall as if nothing had happened.

 _'Master can be a very strange person sometimes...but then, I guess we're all a little odd here.'_ Seras sighed, content for the time to simply lie atop her Master's coffin. A smile graced her lips, then a blush as she the reality of what they'd done sunk in.

 _'I really hope you aren't playing with me Master...Because if I wasn't sure before, I definitely know now - that my feelings for you are definitely larger than they seemed.'_

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 **WHOO...that was a long chapter.**

 **So, feel free to critique my lemoniness...I have to admit this is one of my better ones, but alas, I always feel like there's room for improvement. Comment away, loyal followers.**

 **Now time for our long lost friend- ASTERISKS!**

 ***Snogging:** _British slang for making out, basically. It's frequently used by children, but used sometimes by adults to denote the act as being "dirty"/ having that kind of feel. As Seras is kind of childish herself, I thought it was a perfect word to use._

 ****Pinching:** _Sorry to the virgins/guys out there, but this one's hard to explain unless you've been a woman who's done those things with a guy...In short, ladies, you'll find out someday, and guys...well, take a lesson and Google that shit. Promise your love life will improve. :)_

 **Whelp, it's 1:00AM here, so I bid you all good morning. Until next time!**

 **(Oh, and please Review...please?)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you again to my reviewers!**

 **This chapter is pretty short, but it leaves off on one hell of a cliffhanger. Sorry, not sorry.**

 **WARNINGS: The time has nearly come. Angst ensues. You are warned.**

 **Going on with a somewhat interesting quote to sort of reflect upon what Alucard is going to be experiencing the next few chapters:**

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 **CH XIV**

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 _"Intelligent: not because you think you know everything without questioning, but rather because you question everything you think you know." ~ Unknown_

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Seras was woken from her slumber by a viscious banging on the wall. It only sounded twice, but it was enough to rouse her. Sitting upright, she seen her Master leaning against the near wall, arms braced over his head, looking nearly as though he was going to be sick, just by the way his posture was right then.

Seras had dressed and cleaned herself before resting in her own coffin, nearly fearful of what would happen if she were to sleep in his. She gave her Master a confused stare for a few seconds, calculating his body language in an effort to discern his mood - though quite obviously it wasn't good.

 _'What happened while I was asleep?'_ Seras could _feel_ the waves of anger rolling off of him, making her wary of speaking to him right then, should he snap at her. She knew she'd probably have no other way of getting the answer out of him, though, and daren't scope his mind out right then - he could get quite offended when she did that, and given his mood...

Cautiously, Seras rose from her coffin, coming up beside her Master diagonally - somehow approaching him directly seemed a bad move, and looking at the sharp angles of his elbows and shoulders right then, she could sense that he was extremely guarded. An unusual state for her to find him in, but one she'd seen before. Bowing her head trepidatiously, she tried to look at his face, which he hid in the crook of one arm. She heard a hissing breath fall out of him, and drew back, swallowing. His behavior had her worried. Alucard rarely looked like this, and when he did, she often left him well enough alone. But it was different this time. _He_ had come to _her_ , not the other way around. It made the whole thing smell fishy to her.

"Master?" Seras inquired, feeling a tiny tremble work it's way down her spine when she registered a temperature shift in the room. In the basements of home, it wasn't so obvious, but just like a real shadow, her Master's energy had a chilly feeling to it- but rare were the times she had felt it outside of that place, and never had there been a time that he'd been the one to come to her in this state.

"Master?" Seras inquired again, worried. He pulled a raspy breath into his lungs, making Seras reel a tiny bit as he prepared to speak.

"Integra is dying."

Seras blinked. It took a few seconds for her to really grasp his words, and her heart, feeling remarkably fragile right then, went plummeting into her stomach, though it didn't quite shatter once it hit the bottom - it only cracked. Seras felt nearly as though her heart had been pierced with an arrow all over again, and backed away from her Master for a moment, confusion and hurt drawing bloody tears to her eyes. Of course Integra was dying. She already knew that.

But somehow, she got the sense that he hadn't meant it that way.

"We have to return home - we...we..." Seras didn't quite know what to say. She was supposed to have longer, wasn't she? Alucard said...he'd said she'd make it through the year...hadn't he?

"I was wrong." Seras heard her Master say in a voice barely above a whisper. She blinked a second time, never having expected those words to come out of his mouth, much less in front of her. Seras swallowed thickly, taking deep breaths in a futile effort to remain calm. She could freak out when she knew what they were doing. But she needed to know. She needed a course of action to take right then, or she would be reduced to a weeping mess on the floor in minutes, she knew.

"What are we going to do?" She asked bluntly, surprising herself with how calm her voice sounded.

"There's a flight that will be ready for us in the morning. Lukas made as swift of an arrangement as he could after he received a call from Hellsing." Seras stared.

"We...we can't wait that long!" She hadn't meant to shout, but felt her anxiety rising by the second, making her start to feel ill.

"We don't have much of a choice...I'm the only one who could get there faster, and I've never tried to carry any living thing with me when I teleport before." He explained curtly, though his voice was almost shockingly even, making a sharp contrast to his body language.

"We can try," She offered, begining to pace. She couldn't help it. If she held still, she was going to cry. And though last time went better than she expected, she was no fool. Crying and Alucard didn't mix well, no matter the circumstances. "It's better than-"

" _No_." Alucard commanded, making Seras shrink. She held her poition, freezing solidly still. He sighed, collecting himself as his shoulders seemed to relax just slightly.

"No," He reiterated, breathing deeply. "I won't risk it. Besides, you aren't the only one I have to take." He spat the last line like a curse, lifting his head and pulling away from the wall for the first time since Seras had been awake.

The first thing she noticed were, as usual, his eyes, which looked postitively dreary, though there was a very obvious fire burning in his scarlet irises, an anger of a sort she couldn't say she'd seen in him before. It seemed...resigned, almost. As though he was angry about something he had no willpower to fight.

It was a troubling expression.

"I don't understand..." Seras said, confused. What did he mean, 'she wasn't the only one he had to take' ?

"Come downstairs." He ordered, though his voice was missing it's usual bite. He sounded...tired, for lack of a better word. "There's someone I want you to meet."

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Seras followed her Master down the stairs in silence, glancing up at him every so often to gauge his mood. It hadn't seemed to change much, but there was an increasingly curious frown forming on his face, a truly tired expression that spoke of things he could not control - which was strange, for Alucard rarely resigned himself to anything.

"Master...I know this may sound...strange, under the circumstances, but are you alright?" Seras inquired quietly, the silence graciously parting for her without an awkward hitch.

"Tired, Seras. I'm only tired." He explained, and sounded just the same - like he was exhausted, somehow, though Seras had the distinct impression it wasn't a physical kind of tiredness.

"Who was it you wanted me to meet?" She inquired as they reached the bottom of the stairs - whereupon, standing a ways before her, there was a strange woman with long, wavy brown hair. She was dressed in a navy-blue outfit, consisting of business-casual clothing and a skirt. She looked almost like any other office lady, sans the cream colored cravat she had peculiarly tucked into her blouse, which gave her a classy sort of appearance.

Seras glanced up at her Master as they approached the woman, her curiosity clashing with her unease to make her regard the stranger suspiciously.

"Who is this?" The woman said as she turned to Seras, red eyes that betrayed her species scanning over her with some amount of suspicion also.

"This is Seras," Alucard introduced begrudgingly, making Seras look up at him nearly affrontedly. He caught her gaze as he gestured to the other woman, a bitter smile working at the edges of his lips.

"And this is Amy Emere," Alucard said, tone mildly sarcastic. Without skipping a beat, he continued with a drawn-out sigh.

"She's my ex-wife."

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 **WOO! Short chapter. Yes, yes, you're all hating me right now.**

 **But, if it makes you feel better, there's more symbolism in play here, as always.**

 **Because her name is RIGHT THERE |^| I didn't put asterisks next to it. (So sad, I don't get to shout it at you. *sigh*) BUT her name is significant.**

 **\- Amy:** _Is a common, unassuming name...but it's also the name of a demon. (HINT HINT) One who not much is known about. HE (technically Amy, or Avun, is male, but since it's a common female name in modern days...) is supposedly a powerful fire demon (as in he is MADE of fire) who's chief dominion is astrology. Some say he is the "star demon", since he is both made of fire (which stars were once considered to be made of as well) and knows astrology well._

 **\- Emere:** _That's EH-Meh-REE, I believe, are another mythological being, though one of curious intrigue. They are spirits, in Yorubian mythology, who take the "innocent" guise of a child in order to trick people. They are spirits who are greedy and want the best of everything, and are notorious theives. (HINT HINT) They have the unusual ability to walk between this world and the next at will, and according to mythology, are at least partially mortal._

 **Welp, nerding-out over, I encourage you to REVIEW for the next chapter - though since you guys are already good at that, I don't see why I bother reminding you. :)**

 **Until next time - Aufwiedersehen!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Due to uploading errors and because the last chapter was really short, I will post a double update. You're welcome. (sort of...)**

 **This chapter is fraught with distress, as you might imagine. Things are gonna get hairy for a few chapters, and may become disorienting or confusing - but I do this with some amount of intent on Alucard's part, since he doesn't even make sense to himself most the time.**

 **WARNINGS: The time has come. Armor up your heartstrings, this will be a feels trip.**

 **Moving gravely on:**

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 **CH XV**

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"Your... _what?!"_ Seras sputtered, balking. Surely, he had to be joking?

"Believe you me, I wish I was kidding." He said morosely, a bitter frown on his face. "But it appears not quite _every_ one of my wives died."

"Give me some more credit," The woman, Amy, sassed him fearlessly. "I'm a pretty tough girl." She spoke with a much lighter Romanian accent than Seras had anticipated - but that was the last thing she was concerining herself over at the moment.

"M-Master -" Seras said, looking up at him in disbelief. She hadn't known what she wanted to say, but felt the need to call on him anyway.

"Quiet, Seras." She flinched at his tone, utterly confused. And when Seras got confused, she got upset. And when upset, it was very easy for her patience to start slipping and her temper to flare.

"But Master, you can't - Integra doesn't need that stress. For God's sake, she's already on her _deathbed_ , I highly doubt bringing _another_ vampire into the mix is wise." She snapped at him, heedless of his already irate mood. He turned to look at her with a hard gaze, though it couldn't quite be called a glare.

"I am no happier about the situation." He quipped in a clipped tone, glancing briefly at Amy. "But I have no choice. Trust me. If I don't take her, she'll stay here, and I can't risk her doing anything to jeopardize my future, or yours - which she _would_ do _just_ to spite me."

"I'm standing right here, you know," Amy interrupted before Seras could speak. " And you give me far too much credit, _Alucard_. Spite you, I will, but I have no reason to upheave you as my King. What purpose would that serve me? Don't get me wrong, I would love to watch you flail about like you did back when I impaled you on that church spire," She said with a dry smile. "But I have no reason to upsurp your rulership. Of course, I can't say I'm pleased my ex-husband is also once again the man to rule over me, but..." She sighed. Seras watched on, dumbfounded. _This_ had been his wife?

"As for your Childe, I would spare your concerns." Amy looked Seras up and down for a moment, eyes calculating. "I have no...immediate, interest in her." Seras felt something in her start to lurch at the look Amy gave her, a hot, defensive feeling that made her want to claw out this woman's eyes. Already she didn't like her, and they'd only known each other less than a minute.

 _'My intuition rarely fails me,'_ Seras thought. Amy continued to stare at her, her eyes shining with some emotion Seras could not name, but which she equated most with superiority. Clenching her teeth, Seras bowed her head, shoulders - and hackles - consequently raising. She didn't like that look. She didn't like this situation. She didn't like that woman, and wasn't sure how much she liked her Master all that much right then either.

"Seras, go finish packing." Alucard ordered. Seras spared him no glance, keeping a wary eye on Amy as she reluctantly backed away, turning only when she was sure there was adequate distance between them.

 _'WHY does this have to happen NOW?'_ Seras thought hotly, fists clenching. She was beyond feeling sad or anxious about Integra right at the moment, all her emotional energy being transferred into a spontaineous and inexplicable surge of anger. Just who did that woman think she was, waltzing in here with the absolute _worst_ timing? And she was Alucard's _what_ again? Since when did Alucard have enough wives for one to live? As far as she had been aware, her Master had only been a widow twice - once as a human, the other with Mina. Where had Amy come from? What else didn't she know?

 _'Cool it, Seras. You've just been given a lot to process at once. When you board the plane, you and your Master can have a niiiiice long talk about this. And if that does't happen...'_ Seras groaned. Why could nothing in her life work out smoothly?

 _'Because you're a vampire. Because you are Alucard's Childe. Because you aren't the most self-assured creature in the world. Because -'_ She halted her train of thought right there, shutting up her self-depreciating internal monologue.

 _"_ _Moi Chere, what seems to be troubling you_ _?"_

Seras nearly jumped at the sound of Pip's long-lost voice inside her. He'd been sleeping for so long, she'd nearly forgotten he was there.

 _'I'm sorry for waking you.'_ Seras thought. _'I've just been having a bit of a rough day.'_

 _"I can tell." He replied chuckling. "You seem very upset. Might I be of assistance?"_

 _'No. Sorry, Pip. I don't think you can really help with this one.'_

 _"Can't hurt to try."_ Seras sighed.

 _'Well...long story short, I guess Integra is going to die soon...and on top of that, I just found out today that apparently my Master had more wives than I thought he did. Which wouldn't bother me...if one of those wives wasn't standing downstairs chatting it up with him.'_

 _"Ah, I see."_ He replied calmly. _"So Moi Chere is having a little bit of competition, neh?"_

 _'Competition?'_

 _"Don't tell me you don't see it. She's a threat to your relationship with him. Whether you're aware of that or not, you see it."_

 _'I...'_

 _"Don't play dumb, Seras. You're jealous of her."_

 _'I just met her three minutes ago!'_

 _"Doesn't matter. You recognized her as competition. You've got instincts humans don't - and senses that humans don't. Trust your gut, Seras. If it looks like she's going to be grabbing at your man, by all means snatch him back."_

 _'EH? Wait, wait, Alucard isn't my -'_

 _"Do you love him?"_ the question caught her off guard.

 _'Well, yes, but-'_

 _"Does he love you?"_ Seras thought on it.

 _'I...I don't know.'_

 _"Well clearly he cares about you. Which is enough for now. Point is, if he isn't yours yet, then what are you waiting for, girl? Take him. Take him and hold him tightly, because he's going to fight, and buck, and kick, and push you away."_

 _'How do you know?'_

 _"We share a body, Seras. We also share a mind. I can see in him what you do, and if you think he's worth it, then don't be afraid. Fear is weakness in his eyes, and he won't stand for a weak mate. Show him the reason why he chose you. Why you walk the night. Show him how proud you are to be what you are, how proud you are to belong to him. But know that Alucard isn't the kind of man to be taken lightly, or with minor force. The man might as well be a force of nature himself - which means you'll have to work extra hard to tame him. Think of him like a wild wolf; he wants to be on his own, to do everything on his own terms. He is wild, aggressive, dominant - but with a little patience, a little understanding, and perhaps a few treats every now and again, even a rogue wolf can become as loyal as a dog."_

Seras pondered Pip's words for a few minutes in silence.

 _'Thank's Pip, but...'_

 _"Yes, Moi Chere?"_

 _'I...don't know if I want to_ _ **tame**_ _him, exactly.'_ She could sense her friend's surprise.

 _'Look, I know Alucard is unpredictable, and wild, and beastly...and maybe in the future things will change. But for right now, all he has to offer me is enough. It's enough...'_

 _"...Be careful, Seras. If you won't tame the wolf, you'll have to join him, then."_ Seras reeled from the notion on reflex. _"You're settling for less than what you're worth, Moi Chere. Don't let him cow you. I realize the temptation you are experiencing - your own wild exoticism is what drew me to you, after all."_ She could see her friend smile in her mind. _"But don't forget, my friend: he is a carnivore. A predator. A lion. If you do not ascend to his level, or bring him down to yours, by force if neccessary, then you run the risk of him seeing you as prey. If you don't watch yourself, you may find that the lion suddenly pouncing upon your back while you aren't looking. "_

 _'What are you saying? That Alucard would turn on me?'_

 _"If you got in his way, I do believe he would. Like I said, a man like him has no use for a weak mate. If you don't impress him, he may discard you - or worse, try to_ _ **eat**_ _you."_

 _'I doubt Master would eat me.'_

 _"Does he not relish the taste of your blood? Has he not already drank from you?"_ This gave Seras pause.

 _"Look, Moi Chere, you can do what you like with yourself. But bear in mind that the man you pursue is no scavanging jackal. He is a lion - and were I you, I would protect myself, lest you become the lamb."_ With that, she felt Pip fade. Given much more to reflect upon, she sat upon her coffin, unsure how or when she'd even gotten to her room. Sighing at length, she rested her head in her hands, feeling frustrated tears prick her eyes.

 _'It's been a long day - and tommorrow will be longer.'_

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Seras boarded and rode the plane to get to Romania and the plane to take her home in much the same way - in silence, and without much in the way of a glance to her Master, though this time it was for different reasons. Amy had, of course, come with them, though thankfully she seemed to understand that Alucard was feeling distraught, or else had some kind of sense of courtesy, for she largely left him alone.

Lukas and the others...Well, they'd stayed behind, obviously, and would continue their investigation solo until which time it was deemed that Alucard and Seras were able to return. The stall in their investigation frustrated Seras, but not nearly as much as Amy did. Or, rather, her Master did.

For all the vehemence he had expressed upon her arrival, he seemed...shockingly _tolerant_ of her company. Though he kept expressing his displeasure at the turn of things, Seras could find nothing in the way of genuine hatred or disgust in either his tone, his body language or his gaze whenever Amy came close to him, like she had exiting the plane. Long story short, they both tried to squeeze through the door at the same time...but rather than it ending badly, as Seras had expected, he instead chose to act like nothing had happened, and continued on his way. It was confusing to her, and that made it all the more frustrating. Pip hadn't been of much help in the way of dating advice either, making everything seem much harder.

But probably the hardest pill for her to swallow right now was one she had been avoiding dwelling on, which she had been intentionally shoving back into her pocket, waiting selfishly for the pain to become so unbearable that she'd have no choice but to take it. But now, standing before the Hellsing gates once more, that pill was sounding more and more like she'd wind up having it shoved down her throat if she didn't just swallow the bitter stuff on her own -

Because, whether anyone liked it or not, Integra Fairbrookes Wingates Hellsing was going to die.

And Seras knew...she could sense, that it wouldn't be long now before she passed.

Seras held her head high as she walked through those gates, despite the pain, the rage, the anxiety brewing beneath her skin. She could'nt afford to be weak, not now. She looked over to her Master, finding his face impassive and cool as ever. But beneath his mask, she knew he was just as upset as she was. Looking ahead of her, she resolved herself.

 _'For Master. For Integra. For the men. I have to be strong for all of them. I have to stay strong.'_ Seras had been wondering just what would become of all the men employed here - but daren't reconcile the thoughts, especially not as she passed a particularly gloomy looking squadrant, each stopping to bow shallowly to the two as they passed. A series of condolences, no doubt.

Seras' gut clenched. She had to be strong. For her Master. For his own. For herself.

Amy trailed behind them at a distance, and Seras felt conflicted over whether it was wiser to tell her off or to let her follow them inside, where she knew her and Alucard could keep an eye on her. Deciding the latter was a better option, she kept right on going as they entered the manor, breathing in the smells of home with a silent kind of glee. It was short lived, however, and soon enough the weight of her heavy thoughts began to crush her again, making her chest feel tight and her throat cinch up as though caught in a vice. She had to be strong. She couldn't cry, not now. She had to be strong.

Amy stopped some ways down the hall from Integra's room, and Seras silently (and weirdly) thanked her for her show of respect. Breathing deeply to settle her nerves, she stopped beside her Master before Integra's doors.

Already, an unpleasant scent drifted from beneath the door - a faint odor that humans probably would miss, but which caused Seras' gut to clench up this time for different reasons altogether.

"Her blood has gone bad." Alucard noted passively. "It's not carrying oxygen like it used to. Her liver is probably failing too, if it hasn't died already. Her blood is full of toxins and reeks with the stench of disease." Seras turned to him, a little bewildered by his sudden speech. Looking at his eyes, however, she understood what he was trying to do - not only to calm her, but to calm himself as well.

Seras placed a gentle hand on his arm. "We'll be okay, Master." She nearly choked on the words, a fact that somehow ruined their comforting effect. He turned his head, giving her a half-assed smile.

"I know." Is all he said before walking forward, phasing through the door as if it weren't there. Seras swallowed the bitter bile rising in her throat, pushing onward as she hesitantly followed him.

The scene was straight out of a cliche movie script - an aging woman on her deathbed, a young man already by her side, holding her hand in a measure of comfort. It was Jean, the fearless redhead of her own team. He sat beside Integra, her hand clasped between two of his as she rested, eyes closed and breathing heavy. The sick smell permeated the room, making Seras very nearly wrinkle her nose. But she resisted, determined to walk into that room with as much dignity as she could, because for all she knew, Integra deserved it.

"My Master, I have returned." Alucard announced, coming to stand beside Seras. The Fledgling vampire took as deep a breath as the smell would allow, keeping her nerves by a hairs breadth.

War - that had been one thing. Back then...back then, she hadn't had the time to grieve. Many of her friends had died that night so long ago...yet, her distance from the situation, due ironically to the situation, left her with a sense of pride, rather than remorse for what had happened to them. They'd all died fighting - it was an honorable death.

But this? There was no honor in this. There was nothing left for Seras to see except the bare, naked truth. Every fibre, every muscle, every organ in Integra's body had fought their own wars against a single disease. Yet, here she lay, unable to stand, likely unable to eat, if the atrophy marring her cheekbones was any indication.

She was dying. Integra...was _dying_.

The naked truth of it hit Seras harder than she'd thought. She'd seen plenty of death in her life - but this was different, somehow. It was slow, it was painful -

It was like witnessing torture.

A very strange thought popped into Seras' head then, making her reel from herself after it sunk in. _'I almost HOPE she dies soon...to spare her any more pain.'_

"A..lu...card?" Integra croaked, opening one bleary eye to look around the room, her vision not quite focused. Jean, watching Alucard apprehensively, released Integra and went to stand some distace from the bed, giving the old vampire plenty of space - though whether out of respect or fear, Seras didn't know.

"My Master." Alucard said, a nearly gentle inclination to his voice. He swiftly took Jean's place beside her, kneeling to clasp her hand gently in his own.

"You...came to...see me...off, vampire?" Integra remarked, a painful smile trying hard to work it's way onto her face, to no avail.

"I'll guide your soul to Hell, if that's where you'd have me take you." Alucard replied, a smirk of his own forming. "I'm afraid I can't very well take you to Heaven, if there even is such a place. I don't think they would be very welcoming." Integra let out a breathy cough of laughter.

"No...I would imagine...not." Her voice came out in quiet pants of breath, her body too tired to speak any louder.

"Hush now. Wherever you go..."

"Alucard." Integra barked hoarsely, coughing a bit.

"Yes?"

"I...have one...final request of you..."

"What is it, Master?" Alucard said with mock-enthusiasm. His voice then dimmed somberly. "Give me your final order."

"Take...Seras..." She said, eye gesturing over to the vampiress. "Take care of her...for me, ok? ...I know...She's a big girl now...but if you make her cry...I won't...forgive...you..." Integra's body began to shake, ricket after ricket wracking her fragile body. She wasn't going to last much longer.

"Save your breath, Integra." Alucard hushed her, coming up closer to her. He touched her thin face with his hand, into which she leaned affectionately.

"I...know how this sounds..." Her voice was but a whisper. "But...don't grieve me...I won't be gone forever..." She half-smiled at this, though the physical pain was evident in her eyes, which quickly closed from exhaustion.

"Oh...and...don't kill...my men..." Integra huffed. Seras felt the tears prick her eyes, her emotional damn beginning to crack under the weight of this moment.

"Master? Master!" Alucard called. She'd never heard him so frantic.

"I..." She breathed, shakes mysteriously and far too suddenly subsiding. " Will miss you...Count." Seras couldn't bear to watch anymore, turning her face away as the hot tears began shamelessly staining her cheeks. She sensed it though - not a moment later, it was all over. It had ended.

Hellsing...had ended.

Shaking herself now, Seras crouched down, a sob escaping her involuntarily. It wasn't fair. She was supposed to have longer! WHY did this have to happen now? Why, why WHY?

Alucard reluctantly stood up, his hand never leaving his Master's face. His jaw clenched as he felt the power restriction seals begin to weaken, to fade away entirely. Just like her.

Within a matter of seconds, the room was engulfed in his shadow, his energy overflowing from it's normal bounds.

"Master...My Countess..." He whispered. "I'll miss you too." He breathed the last part, his body begining to shake with rage and agony. He threw his head back abruptly, looking skywards.

"WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME?!" He burst out suddenly, the sudden roar of his voice making Seras jump. She recovered quickly, standing up and wiping the tears away. She heard it, in his voice. The pain. The loss. The sense of losing something you felt had been there all along. She heard it. She sensed it.

She empathized with it.

She approached her Master with less caution than she had expected herself to have, all things considered. Maybe it was because they shared this moment. Maybe it was because she could understand his pain. But for reasons she couldn't quite explain, she didn't feel afraid of him right then. In fact, she felt the need to comfort him.

But, of course, Alucard didn't like being coddled, so she needed to be tactful. Looking at all of his black energy swirling around her, she got an idea.

She let her own energy release from her body, expanding it until it touched his. The feeling was immensely strange at first, like someone touching a body part you didn't know you had. But as she carefully and deliberately wove her energy into his, she could see as well as sense him calming down. Feeling bolder yet, she walked up to him, placing a hand fearlessly on his arm. He looked down at her then, his eyes deeply telling of the emotions he was experiencing - though Seras hardly had to guess. As their energies mixed, a strange kind of connection began forming between them - one of heart, rather than mind.

"Seras..." Alucard said. His voice, normally so sarcastic, sounded broken...like it had that day, that day thirty seven years ago...his voice had sounded similar then. She felt a jab of pain in her chest, and knew somehow it wasn't her pain she was experiencing. She placed her hands delicately on the sides of his long face, touching his hair. His own hands came up to cover her own, but didn't push her away. Rather, he began to immitate her - flexing and bending and weaving their energies together into one seamless mass.

Jean, quite uneasy about what he was seeing, tried to move towards the door. But everywhere he looked, there were shadows - and not knowing whose they were anymore did not help comfort him about them. However, just as he was about to sit down and try to wait them out, they mysteriously parted in a straight path to the door. He glanced over at the pair, silently thanking whoever had done that for letting him out.

As the gap closed, the shadows expanded, filling up the entire space until there was almost no light at all - just a black mass of shadow.

Seras, acting on an impulse, suddenly removed her hands from beneath his before promptly throwing them around her Master's waist. She needed comfort, too.

"My _printessa._ " Alucard whispered into her hair as he, in a rare expression of compassion, returned her embrace.

"Master..." Seras sniffled, pulling up to look at his face in the near total darkness, only seeing a shadow within the shadows.

"What do we do now?" She asked, almost afraid of the answer. Her Master stroked her hair for a moment, thinking.

"Now, Seras, we go on."

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 **WHOO! That was a rollercoaster to write.**

 **Sorry if it seems kinda sloppy at the end - it's 1:00AM here. :)**

 **Okay, kiddies, you know what to do. PLZ, Review for the next chapter - where we will examine this strange "Amy" in more detail as far as what she means for this story.**

 **Until then!**


	16. Chapter 16

**WHOO, that last chapter still has me quaking...**

 **Thank you again to my reviewers. :)**

 **Now, this chapter...might be confusing at first. In order to evade that confusion, this will be the first of what I dub the "dream chapters" I have planned for this fic. They are pretty much just what they sound like - chapters in which the characters dreams are expounded upon.**

 **As you know, dreams like to use symbols to tell us things. I will try to expound upon the most significant of them for those who have a hard time with that, and perhaps give you all some insight into the Hellsing series as well. :) That said, I advise to "read between the lines" here (which, for the record, is always a good idea with me; I love to throw little tidbits here and there and everywhere; subtle hints, little pieces of info, foreshadowing, etc.) as much as you are able in order to get the most out of it.**

 **That over, let's see how well our favorite vampires are doing, shall we?**

 **WARNINGS: Heavy symbolism. Angst. Death (again...sorry). Child murder. (AGAIN)**

 **I was torn between a song and a kinda longish victorian poem. Guess which won?**

 **That said, Poe is a hard poet to "get" sometimes, so...Again, free to ask questions. That said, to answer a few before you even read it (if you do):**

 **An** _ **Eidolon**_ **is an interesting thing. It is a noun denoting BOTH a person of high social ranking (like a king, earl/count [same thing, FYI] etc.) AND is** _ **also**_ **a word used to denote a spectre or phantom. In this context, it is a double-entendre and means both a king AND a spectre. Fun, right?**

 **The** _ **Ultimate dim Thule**_ **he talks about is a location which was once thought to be the northernmost point on earth - in other words, the north pole - but has since been disclaimed from the title. The physical location is somewhere in Sweden, but in a literary context back in the Victorian Era, the "thule" was sometimes used by way of analogy to describe something inexplicable or mysterious, and a "journey from the Thule" was used similarly to decribe something that was arduous or fraught with difficulty.**

 _ **Sublime**_ **is a word that is used out of it's intended context a lot, so I will explain a little here. Something Sublime is strange and awe-inspiring, while also eliciting strong emotions, typically ones of either exhileration or terror. Quite fittingly, the** _ **Dracula**_ **novel is considered a "sublimely themed" story because the vampiric characters are frightening and fascinating at the same time. Mary Shelly's** _ **Frankenstein**_ **also graps strongly at the concept of "the sublime".**

 **GOING ON!**

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 _ **Dream-Land**_ _by Edgar Allan Poe:_

 _'''_

 _By a route obscure and lonely,_

 _Haunted by ill angels only,_

 _Where an Eidolon, named NIGHT,_

 _On a black throne reigns upright,_

 _I have reached these lands but newly_

 _From an ultimate dim Thule—_

 _From a wild weird clime that lieth, sublime,_

 _Out of SPACE—Out of TIME._

 _'''_

 _Bottomless vales and boundless floods,_

 _And chasms, and caves, and Titan woods,_

 _With forms that no man can discover_

 _For the tears that drip all over;_

 _Mountains toppling evermore_

 _Into seas without a shore;_

 _Seas that restlessly aspire,_

 _Surging, unto skies of fire;_

 _Lakes that endlessly outspread_

 _Their lone waters—lone and dead,—_

 _Their still waters—still and chilly_

 _With the snows of the lolling lily._

 _'''_

 _By the lakes that thus outspread_

 _Their lone waters, lone and dead,—_

 _Their sad waters, sad and chilly_

 _With the snows of the lolling lily,—_

 _By the mountains—near the river_

 _Murmuring lowly, murmuring ever,—_

 _By the grey woods,—by the swamp_

 _Where the toad and the newt encamp,—_

 _By the dismal tarns and pools_

 _Where dwell the Ghouls,—_

 _By each spot the most unholy—_

 _In each nook most melancholy,—_

 _There the traveller meets, aghast,_

 _Sheeted Memories of the Past—_

 _Shrouded forms that start and sigh_

 _As they pass the wanderer by—_

 _White-robed forms of friends long given,_

 _In agony, to the Earth—and Heaven._

 _'''_

 _For the heart whose woes are legion_

' _T is a peaceful, soothing region—_

 _For the spirit that walks in shadow_

' _T is—oh, 't is an Eldorado!_

 _But the traveller, travelling through it,_

 _May not—dare not openly view it;_

 _Never its mysteries are exposed_

 _To the weak human eye unclosed;_

 _So wills its King, who hath forbid_

 _The uplifting of the fring'd lid;_

 _And thus the sad Soul that here passes_

 _Beholds it but through darkened glasses._

 _'''_

 _By a route obscure and lonely,_

 _Haunted by ill angels only,_

 _Where an Eidolon, named NIGHT,_

 _On a black throne reigns upright,_

 _I have wandered home but newly_

 _From this ultimate dim Thule._

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There was darkness. Endless, impenetrable darkness, wrapping itself like a thick sheet of velvet around cold flesh, it's grasp suffocatingly thick and inextinguishable. There was no room to breathe, no air, no awareness - only the feeling that something was wrong. It started as a spark of a feeling, but quickly swelled into a flame of concern worthy size, the false heat burning a mild sort of anger into his chest. Something was trying to rouse him.

 _'Who could it be, to want me up at this hour?'_ Alucard thought. He took a moment to think, trying to recall if Seras had gone to bed with him or not - but every time he tried to bring her image into his head, it felt as though something stopped him, an invisible blockade that kept her memory far away from him right then, lingering tantalizingly on the tip of his tongue, but remaining mysteriously out of his reach.

A different face revealed itself instead - though it wasn't any more clear than the last, he felt inexplicably drawn to it ; it was the face of a child, a young one at that. The details were almost impossible to make out, but he knew, somehow, that he recognized this child. How? Who was he? Alucard tried to remember.

Suddenly, he found himself in a room - not one he'd been in recently, but which was eerily familiar to him. Just then, a high, keening sound was heard from somewhere in a different room. Alucard looked around, feeling very tired. _'Wait...I know where I am. This is in Wallachia... My old castle. I'm at home...but who is making that terrible noise?'_ Alucard heard the sound again distantly, and immediately recognized the sound. _'A baby? Whose baby is that? '_ He felt like he should know. That cry sounded entirely too familiar. _'Oh, right...he's mine. These are my human memories. That's right...I had a son once, didn't I? I'd nearly forgotten...'_ Taking a breath, he rolled to stand up from where he lay on a poster bed, wrapped in red sheets. Just like he liked them. _'At least my taste in decorum never really changed...if nothing else has remained the same of me for the last six hundred years, that at least I can say hasn't changed much.'_

He wandered down a hallway, not remembering from one foot to the next where his last step had been. He came upon a door that was slightly cracked, a pale yellow light streaming from the inside. Peeking into the door, he seen a stout woman with long brown hair clutching a small bundle to her chest whilst the child suckled her. She was humming something, an upbeat but soft tune that he couldn't name. She paced about the room, a bright yellow fire burning in the hearth behind her. As if involuntarily, Alucard placed a hand on the door, making it creak as he swung it open. This caught the mother's attention, and she turned to Alucard with simultaneously relieved and wary eyes, both of which were a rare shade of green.

"M'Lord," She said, dipping as best she could with a squirming baby in her hands. Alucard looked at the child, a strange feeling seeping into his chest. "I did not mean to wake you. He's being rather fussy, is all." She explained, coddling the baby.

"And what of Mihnea?*" Alucard heard himself ask.

"Asleep. He is doing well, for such a young thing." She said, smiling softly at her husband. _'That's right...I remember now. I had more than one son, didn't I? Yes...one wife gave me a son that would see my "death" and another gave me a baby...then another boy who also lived to see my demise. Three sons total...Yes, I remember now. But there's something missing...a piece here that doesn't fit...'_

A dark memory began to creep at the edges of his vision as he approached the baby. There was still this strange feeling in his chest, a feeling of wanting to protect the child and kill it simultaneously. He'd had dreams similar to this, he recalled. Normally, he killed it and was done. Maybe now would be the same, and he'd wake up as soon as he landed the blow, just like always.

But something stopped him as he stared down at the dark blonde boy. An inexplicable tugging at the back of his mind, trying to remind him of something. The child released the teat it had been attatched to, turning expressive blue eyes up to Alucard, their innocence seeming entirely too familiar. Reaching out a hand almost on reflex, he touched the child's head gently, fingers barely feeling a thing. Strange.

The feeling in his chest became more intense, the voice shouting in his head more frantic. Something was wrong with this child, his instincts told him. He was better off dead, for one reason or the next...Yet, this time, for reasons unknown, Alucard just couldn't bring himself to snap it's neck like he had in dreams like this before. It was as easy as breathing, the action to take his life - yet something held him back. A thought, a memory that clung insistently now to his last nerve.

Deciding he might as well explore it, he let the voice show him the memory it had been trying to broadcast to him.

The sky had been dark that day. Rain had been pouring for hours, and Alucard had stood on the edge of a battlefield, worn and bloody. He felt no pain, though, and walked into the field of corpses as though strolling through a park. They were on the edge of a forest, so there were still a few battles waging here and there by the losing party, but for the most part he, Vlad, had suceeded. He felt proud, and glorious...

Until a flash caught his eye.

Up ahead of him, his second son was fighting with a rogue enemy that refused to give up the fight. They danced around each other, iron blades stained with blood and sod as they clashed and rang like music.

But then, the music stopped.

Vlad's son, a sprite twenty-something with dark blonde hair and big blue eyes, a boy of a softer expression than his siblings, of a kinder disposition, now lay heaving for air on his side, having been impaled by his opponent's blade.

This, for reasons Alucard felt he could understand better now, made Vlad _quite_ angry. He charged at the offender, lopping off his head in one clean strike, a mighty roar of rage surging from his throat like a missile. As the decapatated soldier jerked and twitched his way into death, Vlad turned to his son, expression somber.

"Ruka," He said to the boy, who was heaving great, rapid breaths. He'd been stabbed through the lung - an injury that typically proved fatal.

"F-Father..." he croaked, pupils wide from onsetting shock. This wasn't a memory Alucard...well, remembered.

"Hush, my son. You did well today." He offered, touching the boy's shoulder. He squeezed it in both frustration and comfort as he said, " You did well. You died with honor, and have made your father proud of you."

"P..please," Ruka whispered, coughing up a thick slurry of saliva and congealing blood. "Take me...to the tulip garden...it's pretty there." He breathed, wheezing. "I want...to die someplace peaceful."

"I am afraid I can not move you as you are. My company will have to do."

"Th-that's ok..." He coughed up more of his sanguine body fluids, expression becoming drowsy as he began to lose consciousness.

"T-take..." The boy, Ruka, began, trying to lift his arms. Alucard knew somehow what he desired, and carefully held the boy to his chest.

"You did well." Vlad then whispered to his son, who's eyes drifted shut from exhaustion.

"I..know..." He whispered.

"Save your breath, Ruka."

"For...what?" The child tried a half-smile, bloody teeth stained crimson.

"Good point."

"V...Father," Ruka continued, sucking in a deep breath. " Will you...keep me...until I go?" Alucard, even through the memory, felt a deep, wounding pain strike his battered heart.

"Yes. I'll hold you like this until it's over. Now, go to sleep."

The memory faded then, and was replaced with a much more familiar memory to him: his own "death". He could recall being put up on the stand, looking below him to find that his own brother**, in a cruel twist of fate, had come to watch him be executed. Great.

Except that he wasn't going to die.

By that time, he'd already made his mortal sacrifice. The vampiress that had come to him softly in the night, promising him freedom from death, freedom from pain, had already set her curse upon him then. And what had she done once her vampiric "duty" had been passed on? Left him high and dry, of course. The taste of her sweet blood had still lingered on the back of his throat as he swallowed, hoping that she hadn't been lying to him when she said he'd become immortal.

 _'What a foolish man I was back then. '_

The memory faded away, the final scene being the sun - the last of it he'd ever seen through at least somewhat mortal eyes. The last, warm rays on his still-transforming skin. Sighing mentally, he felt the stirrings of an unpleasant emotion, one he abstained from - the only "sin" he purposefully avoided: _Envy._

Wanting what someone else had was different from envy, to him; if someone else had something he didn't, then all he had to do was take it. But envy, to him, was defined as something that he desired in spite of knowing he couldn't have it. _That_ was envy. _That_ was what he tried to avoid. There was no sense, after all, in wasting valuable energy or time on something that could never be.

There was a tug at his consciousness then - now someone really _was_ trying to rouse him. But before he could stirr himself awake, a set of unbidden images collided violently in his head, the force of the epiphany they unceremoniously created _shocking_ him awake.

In one image, the eyes of his baby boy and the eyes of the same boy in his final moments bled together until there was an innocent, but pained stare burning holes into his very soul, the expression somehow distrubing and stirring at the same time. In the other, the forgotten face of his Childe came into abrupt focus, until, without warning, the two seemed to collide, merging together into one unsettling image of his Childe as somehow both a girl and a boy, that same unnerving expression on her face.

Then it struck him.

He almost had to laugh, and probably would have, had he not still been partially unconscious. So that's what it had been. That's what that tug, that inexplicable impulse to turn her had come from all those years ago. It hadn't been just because of her personality, though he still largely attributed his decision to change her to the fact that she had charmed him with her determination to live; but this, this changed things.

Because he hadn't chose her just for that, it would seem. No. No, some deep, unconscious part of his mind had recognized something familiar in her; a sense he could not deny, looking back on it. The urge to laugh stuck at his throat like a slimy toad. Of course! Now it made sense to him. But he had the strangest sense that her physical resemblance to his deceased son wasn't the end of the story. He'd seen many faces he could consciously and unconsciously liken to the boy, and never felt the draw to them he had felt with her.

It occured to him then, a most inexplicable, outrageous, stupidly ridiculous idea - but one his startled mind had a hard time refuting with logic right then.

Maybe, just maybe, she _was_ his boy.

He hadn't known the child well, to be honest. Being a count kept a father busy. But there was something, something deeper, he could feel; an unsettling alikeness to him that he hadn't noticed in Seras before. But then, he'd forgotten the memory of him until now - how could he have possibly made the connection?

But gazing at his new theory, he found a frustratingly and simultaneously exhilerating lack of holes. Yes, he realized he could just be fluking it, and his imagination was just playing cruel jokes with him. But now that he'd made the connection, he couldn't un-make it, even if he didn't believe in those sorts of fairy tales. He felt his own face frown deeply as he considered the idea.

Seras Victoria _was_ Ruka... _reincarnated._

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Alucard woke, his thoughts still a jumbled mess. Seras, the reincarnation of his dead son? The notion sounded utterly ridiculous...and yet, there she lay beside him in his coffin, head tucked into his shoulder, blonde hair nearly the same as _his_ had been, soft, childish face far too alike to what he remembered.

 _'Quit overthinking it. They say everyone has a doppelganger- who says they have to live in the same time era?'_ He reasoned with himself. He looked down at the sleeping Seras, a feeling of affection suddenly stirring in his chest. _'Besides which, she may not have to be his_ _ **Reincarnation,**_ _for God's sake, in order to look like him...or act like him...'_ He frowned. _'Well, my other two sons did live on for a time, and so did my brothers...I suppose it would be possible for them to have passed their genes down far enough...'_ Alucard felt his unease heighten at the idea; which was worse, having her be the reincarnation of his dead son, or having her be related to him, however distantly, by blood? By _mortal_ blood?

 _'Stop that. It's probably just a freakish coincidence...but I do suppose I can do some digging to find out, if I must.'_

Just then, Seras began to stir, squirming against him where she lay against his arm, trying to tuck herself further into him. A deep, instinctive urge to nestle her overcame him, and he shifted so as to allow her to fold into him more, her face burying into his coat, nose nudging him like a kitten wanting to be fed.

He'd forgotten how it felt to sleep beside someone, having been alone so long; it felt...nice, the way she squirmed into him as if trying to bury herself _under_ him, like a chick trying to take shelter beneath it's mother's wings. The action roused in him a state of physical arousal that wasn't sexual, but which still felt pleasant - a state of near contentedness, if he dared call it so. _'Is this what they call "oxytocin" or whatever?'_ He thought, stroking Seras' shoulder absently with his free hand. She responded to the touch unconsciously, lifting her head briefly in a state of half-awareness, letting out a small squeak in the process as air was accidentally forced through her vocal chords when she moved. Her eyes remained closed, her still breath undisturbed, as she repositioned herself against his throat, head nestling beneath his chin. He pulled her body closer on impulse, drawing her flush against him, his arm enveloping her in his coat, which he used as a substitute blanket of sorts. They lay still after that, comfortable and content.

He looked down at her in the darkness of his coffin, expression uncharacteristically gentle as he brought up his hand to stroke her neck tenderly.

 _'What am I going to do with you?'_

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 **Ok, that ended on an unusually fluffy note. Oh well, fluffy is nice after a time. :)**

 **Now for the long-absent exclaimation - you know it,**

 **ASTERISKS!**

 ***Minhea:** _Vlad Dracul II(I?)'s actual biological son, the first I believe. He was married twice, historically, and had a total of three sons, though only two made it past their mid twenties. The second child, the one that died, has no recorded name, so I had to give him one. (Ruka, in this case)_

 ****Brothers:** _Again, historically, Vlad had two brothers, one younger and one older. Ruhe, his younger brother, is the one I was thinking of specifically here; why that is important is because Ruhe and Vlad were both held captive by the Sultan in order to get their father to negotiate. In other words, if we are being historically accurate, Alucard would have been imprisoned alongside his little brother, who maybe would have shared his fate. Thus, it is significant that Ruhe would appear for his brother's execution (which historically, he did, as did his other brother) because of the trauma they shared. if that makes sense..._

 **Now to explain a few symbols that are significant:**

 _ **Rain:**_ _Rain is universally symbolic of cleanliness and purity; pro tip: if it ever rains in a scene of fiction, be it televised or literary, it usually indicates change and a "cleansing" of a person, place, or thing. In this case, Alucard's "mask" is figuratively 'washed away' by the rains as he holds his dying son._

 _ **Red:**_ _The color red, when dreamt, signifies passion (in the sense of lust or rage) and carnal urges. Both suit Alucard, which I think is why the creator even went with a bright red coat for him in the first place; authors like to do that. Puts a new spin on "wearing their emotions on their sleeves"._

 _ **Darkness:**_ _Dreaming about total darkness signifies that you are out-of-sync with yourself, and/or that you are holding yourself back/blinding yourself, refusing to see something, etc. ( I think we all know what at this point)_

 _ **Sunrise:**_ _Universal symbol of rebirth and change._


	17. Chapter 17

**Ok, well the last chapter...didn't go over as well as I had hoped. So, in response to the more "WTF" comments, I shall explain.**

 **The part about Seras being the reincarnation of Alucard's child actually came from a scene in the last episode of Hellsing Ultimate - the moment was so brief, the image so fleeting, that I am sure most of you missed it. But, there is a scene in one of Alucard's flashbacks, lasting about a second, in which a character is shown, a small child... a blonde-haired, blue eyed boy. A boy which looks quite uncannily like Seras, to the degree that I initially mistook him for her( talk about a WTF moment). While I attribute the reality of it to laziness on part of the animator (this scene does not appear in the manga) the thought popped into my head as an interesting paradox/twist on the Hellsing series. In the scene, the boy is surrounded by flames, with other people burning all around him, in case you're interested. (Also, fire becomes a potent symbol later- just a heads up).**

 **Now, whether she is reincarnation or descendant has yet to be determined...and frankly, doesn't matter all that much until much later chapters, in which the answer will finally be revealed. (I am evil that way). For the record, however, since it came up in the comments:**

 **Seras, if she were descended of his brother, (plausible) would be SO far removed from Alucard (Vlad) genetically that there'd be almost no relation at all. I mean, we are talking about an ancestor from** _ **600**_ **years prior. That's a lot of generations. A lot of blood thinning. You get the picture.**

 **Second, can someone explain to me how reincarnation is the same as incest? Because I still don't understand that one.( 0.o?) She may be the reincarnation of his son (also plausible) but that doesn't make them related by mortal blood. And if anyone is going to go so far as to make that assumption, then how are they ok with the fact Alucard and Seras are vampirically related as Sire/Childe? I am much confused...**

 **I would ordinarly have addressed these concerns on a personal (PM) level, but as so many commented with the same concerns, I felt the need to include something to soothe the ruffled feathers in the A/N.**

 **TO recap:**

 **Alucard and Seras are still together, because...Alucard. Honestly, as crooked as his moral compass is, I doubt he'd care if she were his legitimate niece. (which, for the record, she isn't).**

 **Regardless of the outcome, the story will still stay on the same track. Meaning that Seras' past life or ancestors** _ **play no major role**_ **on her relationship with Alucard - they do matter, but not until later, and not because of her relationship with him. (again, why should he care? So far he's the only one who has any inkling).**

 **WHoO- now that that is finally out of the way, lets move on, shall we?**

 **WARNINGS: Relationship drama, some rollercoaster feelings.**

 **This folk song sounded TOO perfect for this chapter. There isn't an identified author/artist, so I went with a popular cover.**

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 **CH XVII**

 _ **Wayfaring Stranger**_

 _Cover by Karliene_

 _'''_

 _I am a poor wayfaring stranger,_

 _Travelling through this world alone;_

 _There is no sickness, toil nor danger_

 _In that fair land to which I go -_

 _'''_

 _I'm going home,_

 _To see my mother;_

 _I'm going home, no more to roam;_

 _I am just going over Jordan*_

 _I am just going over home..._

 _'''_

 _I know dark clouds will hover o'er me -_

 _I know my pathway is rough and steep;_

 _But golden fields lie out before me,_

 _Where weary eyes, no more shall weep._

 _'''_

 _I'm going home,_

 _To see my Father;_

 _I'm going home, no more to roam;_

 _I am just going over Jordan,_

 _I am just going over home;_

 _'''_

 _I'll soon be free from every trial,_

 _This form shall rest beneath the sod;_

 _I'll drop the cross of self-denial,_

 _And enter in that home with God;_

 _'''_

 _I'm going home,_

 _To see my savior,_

 _Who spilled his precious blood for me;_

 _I am just going over Jordan,_

 _I am just going over home._

 _'''_

 _I am just going over Jordan,_

 _I am just going over home..._

 _(* Jordan: Refers to the Jordan River in the Bible; "going over Jordan" is equivalent to saying someone has died or is dying.)_

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The manor was too quiet when Seras finally woke from her slumber. She had momentarily forgotten where she was, and nearly had a heart attack when she felt something big and warm move beside her. Jumping, she calmed once she recognized the inside of her Master's coffin, relaxing again into his frame, which was spooned intimately against her own. He shifted minutely, legs tangled with hers in such a way that she knew she couldn't get up without waking him. Yawning, she stretched as much as she was able, realizing that he had an arm wrapped around her waist in the process. Their position, which ordinarily would have made her blush, instead made her feel...safe. Secure. Like if she stayed here, surrounded by him, that nothing could ever hurt her. She touched his draping arm affectionately, tracing his now seal-less gloves, fingers touching his own tenderly. She refused to give into the nagging demon in the back of her head right then, pushing the stress-inducing realizations of the day off her mind for just a few seconds longer- just long enough to lie here and enjoy herself for the breifest of moments before the weight of the world came crashing back down on her with the visciousness of a swooping eagle, talons spread just right to stab her deeply, woundingly, in all the right places.

She recongized her breaking point fast approaching her- she'd been through too much, been putting off too much, been compartmentalizing too much; she knew if she didn't release the pressure on the dam that it would burst, but finding an artful way to do so without Alucard haunting her about it was tricky.

She was beyond the point of just needing a good cry- she was to the point of boiling tar seeping through the cracks inside her, causing a deep, unstable burn in her gut that threatened constantly to turn into a raging eruption of ash and cinder if she did not control herself. Integra was now dead. Alucard's wife had come back, and what's worse, he didn't seem terribly concerned about it; top it off with the utterly _daunting_ future laid out before her, and she quite thought that she had a good reason to be sad, angry, and upset all at once.

But that didn't mean her Master would be so understanding.

He was hurting, just like her...but unlike her, he handled it in a totally different way. Where Seras could get away with crying and punching something inanimate, Alucard dealt with pain via escapism. He ran away from it, going on for a time before it finally caught up to him - _then_ he flipped the fuck out, usually in emotionally charged scenarios - generally in battle, though she knew all this as a result of watching him do just that when a rather unfortunate intern decided to mock the late Walter - bless the man's mortal soul - in front of Alucard. At first, her Master had been thouroughly offended, as had she; but it was a pretty revealing moment for her when, upon continuing with his (ableit underhanded) insults, Alucard quite promptly _defenestrated_ him - that would be, he quite literally _threw him from the window_. And then proceeded to yell angerly at Integra for well over thirty minutes about how badly he'd been betrayed, revealing that not only were those wounds, more than thirty years old, still fresh in his mind, but also that the man likely held this nature; that of running away from emotional issues before handling them.

Quite frankly, it suited him too well for her to doubt her inference too much.

"Hmm...You're finally awake." She heard him mumble into the back of her neck, starting a bit when he spoke so suddenly.

"Yes...well, a lot has happened. It's made it rather tricky to stay asleep."

"I understand - in fact, I had a rather unusual dream, myself." He said casually, lifting his head to rest his chin on her shoulder. She turned to look up at him, a strange, but pleasant sense coming over her.

" Well, I have a sense I was dreaming at some point, but I'm afraid I don't remember it."

"I see." Was all he said, peering down at her through lashes that were somehow impossibly long at this angle.

"C'mere," She said suddenly, reaching an arm over his head. He quirked a brow shallowly, leaning forward. Seras leaned up, planting a swift kiss on his lips.

"Sorry. Couldn't resist. The moment was too perfect." She said, smiling. He returned her smile with his characteristically crooked one, huffing in amusement.

"You certainly are a character. They both were right about that."

"Who?" She inquired curiously. His smile fell then, replaced by a much more straight expression.

"My ... Integra. Walter, also, told me that you were quite the character. He was right, of course." Alucard tried for a half-hearted smile, but it fell flat somehow.

"Oh..." Seras said, expression becoming somber. "Funny, I was just thinking of him myself. Or, really, you and him."

"Oh? Do tell. " He said, a different sort of smile altogether forming on his pale face.  
"Not a chance." She said, smirking herself as she shoved his shoulder playfully. Her expression quickly fell back into a somber state as she took a deep breath - she'd have to face the night eventually, and the longer she stayed in here, the longer that _other_ vampiress that her Master insisted they take had to roam around the manor unsupervised.

"C'mon. We should probably be up. Who knows what your little aquaintance is up to now that there's no one to stop her from eating the men except you - provided you don't eat them yourself. " She hadn't meant to sound so contrary, but couldn't say she regretted it.

"Well aren't you in a fantastic mood all of a sudden." Alucard quipped, chuckling lowly. "Does my Ex wife bother you so much?" Seras whirled on him as she stepped out of the coffin, blush fervent on her face.  
"Of course not - I just don't trust her is all. You don't seem to either, or you wouldn't have made her stay in _my_ room." Seras snipped, still quite unhappy that _her_ room had to be the one the little -

"Well, you got to stay with me for the night - isn't that a fair enough trade off?" He remarked, smirking smugly at her. Oh how she hated that smirk sometimes.

"W-well..." She stammered, blushing brighter. Her Master chuckled, and it was just then that she realized why he was acting the way he was.

 _'He's trying to keep the mood light...typical of Alucard, I guess, to make light of a heavy situation.'_ Seras thought, a smile creeping onto her face. _'But I have to admit, it's helpful.'_

"C'mon - I'm sure we aren't the only ones who are grieving right now." Seras pointed out calmly, much to her Master's surprise. She turned on him suddenly as they approached the door, threatening finger finding it's way to his chest.

"And don't you dare eat any of them." Seras sassed, serious expression on her face as she boldly looked him in the eye. Her gaze fell after a moment, however, her breath coming out in a sigh. "Integra asked that you didn't kill any of them. I would appreciate if you kept your word this time around." Seras said softly, voice narrowly betraying the pain she felt saying her former superior's name.

Alucard stared at her in shock for a moment, a bit taken aback by her comment about him keeping his word. Dare he say he felt _insulted_ by it. But upon evaluation, he had to mentally concede that he hadn't always kept those particular promises - those that required him to keep his temper or else not eat food that _literally_ walked right up to him. Things were different now, though - _he_ was different now.

"I gave her my word. And I quite intend to keep it." Alucard snapped, though his voice stayed low. It was Seras' turn to be taken aback, but she quickly swallowed the bitter retort on her tongue, knowing that they both were grieving just as much as the other, and that if anything, their bickering would come about from that.

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Amy was hanging around the hallway just above the basement, staring out the large glass window with a blank expression on her face. Seras observed her carefully, looking for any traces that she'd taken one of the men.

"Relax, princess, I didn't eat any of your toy soldiers." She huffed, closing her long lashes over her ruby eyes. She turned to face the two of them then, nodding in acknowledgement when her eyes found Alucard.

"Forgive me if I don't exactly trust a strange vampire." Seras all but growled, feeling her body go rigid. She was in no mood to play.

"Strange, am I? And what do you suppose that makes _you_ , darling?" She retorted with a doubtlessly Alucard-like smile. "You're the ' _Childe of the King'_. A princess by every right - yet you live to _kill_ your own kind, and practically worship your prey. Yet _I'm_ the strange one?" She laughed darkly, and suddenly Seras got a rather unwelcome impression of how her and Alucard had ever been married.

"Enough," Her Master said curtly, stepping forward. "We have a funeral to attend this evening, and with all due respect, would prefer you kept out of it." He said to Amy pointedly. She looked taken aback for a moment, but her eyes grew unusually soft and somber as she nodded.

"I understand. Take whatever time you need." Alucard then walked around her, Seras quickly following suit, eyes trailing behind her just in case. When she finally decided that she was a safe distance, Amy called again:

"Just remember, my King; you have many other duties which await you back at home - your _real_ home. " She said before turning and disappearing back down the stairs into the basement once more. Seras huffed in irritation, but Alucard remained unusually cool.

"Come, Seras. The men are waiting on us, I am sure. Or rather, they'll be waiting on you." Seras looked up at her Master then, unsure what to say. His tone was as flat and normal as ever, but his words hit her the wrong way, somehow.

"How did you ever put up with her, anyway?" The question flew from Seras' mouth before she could catch it, making her turn her face away from her Master's inquisitive stare awkwardly. He then chuckled lowly.

"If you and I get along because we are the opposite, then she and I got along because we were the same." He said, eyes turning back ahead. That made sense, she supposed.

"Oh. I can see that, I guess..."

The funeral procession was to be held some thrity miles away in a remote graveyard where all the Hellsing members were buried in the name of secrecy. It seemed a tragedy to Seras that the men couldn't even choose where they were buried after they sacrificed themselves for the greater good, but she supposed it made it easier than trying to explain to their families - those that didn't or couldn't know about thier occupation at Hellsing - how or why they'd died.

The drive was quiet, and once they arrived, the sights were almost too much for Seras to bear. There was a perfectly polished, black coffin standing on a shelf beneath an onning in a corner of the yard, white flowers laid all around it, though it's lid remained mercifully shut. Around the coffin stood all the Knights, each bearing flowers of their own. Seras clutched some of her own to her chest, having picked them up on the way here. She had chosen a yellow rose, rather than a white one, to represent the value of their friendship and the depth of her gratitude to the woman for letting her be such a thing, despite what she was. Alucard had chosen his own flower, though it seemed a strange choice - he had picked up a small bouquet of fire-colored roses - which she knew symbolized passion and devotion - and, wierdly, bright crimson lilies*, which she couldn't say she quite understood the meaning of, but inferred that it had something to do with blood.

"Stay alert. The Knights may not appreciate our presence here." He warned briefly before waltzing on ahead, stopping only when he'd reached Sir Island's back. The man seemed aware that Alucard was there, but paid him little mind as he quietly pushed up his glasses.

"So you did come." He remarked as Seras followed Alucard warily, noticing all the other eyes coming to focus seemingly on her alone.

"Of course I did. I held her hand as she died; it would be rude if I didn't show up to her funeral." He said sardonically, a wicked smirk pulling at his face, but beneath it Seras seen the hidden pain.

"Perhaps." Islands said after a moment, finally turning around to face the vampire behind him. He peered up at Alucard fearlessly, before, in a remarkably polite gesture, stepped aside to let him approach the coffin.

"Thank you." Island's eyes went wide at the remark, having clearly not expected to be thanked for his courtesy, least of all by Hellsing's pet monster.

Seras tipped her head to him as she followed behind her Master, struggling to keep her composure. This was likely the last she'd ever get to see of Integra; then she'd be sent off, most likely, with her Master in order to fulfil whatever duties she was apparently required to do.

Well, that's if the Knights didn't try to kill them first.

She'd been warned by her Master earlier to be on alert in case the Knights of the Table decided that an unleashed Alucard was too much of a risk; she'd been told that she, likely, would be the one they went after in an effort to manipulate her Master. The thought of violence breaking out here, of all places, made her sick with rage - but at the same time, she knew better than to put it past the lot of them to try something like that.

As Alucard finished saying his quiet farewells, Seras stepped up, placing her single yellow rose on top of her Master's crimson lilies delicately, telling herself over and over not to cry - not here, not now. But _damn_ if it wasn't hard.

"I'm so sorry," She whispered, fighting the stuck feeling in her throat as she swallowed nervously, acutely aware that she had an audience watching her every move. She leaned down over the coffin, placing her forehead against the cool surface, nearly wishing she could touch her again - but knowing that opening the coffin, seeing her face, would break whatever restraint she still possessed.

"I promise, I wont let him get killed." She whispered, barely audible even to herself. "And I'll do whatever I have to to protect the men."

"Seras." Alucard called. She fought the urge to sob, her chest feeling tight, memories of the same pain seeming surreal to her as she stood here now.

"Seras. It's time." Her Master said softly just behind her, his hand coming up to rest on her shoulder gently. She sniffed, drawing back to face her Master with crimson tears brimming in her eyes.

"I know." She sniffed. "I know."

"Come." He said, draping an arm over her shoulders as he lead her away, her heart screaming all the while to turn around, turn around, _turn around ,_ because somewhere in her illogical mind there was a sense that turning her back on her even now - no, _especially_ now, was betraying her somehow.

"I'm so sorry," She whispered, "I wouldn't go if I didn't have to." She whispered to herself, a tear escaping her control as it worked a bloody trail down her face. Alucard either didn't notice or didn't care, instead leading her on, away from the Knights which threatened to destroy her in the near future, especially if she made a wrong move.

They went over to a small table where human foods were being served, though understandably no one seemed to be in the mood to eat. There were a handful of Hellsing's men chatting morosely, though they parted as Alucard and she approached. One of the men, which she recognized as Erin, a tallish boy who was well into his forties now and one of the oldest men there, gave her a nod as she passed, sending his personal condolences her way with just a look.

It was usually that way, she reminded herself. No one wanted to be seen making nice with the resident monsters, not even Integra - though she had arguably better reasons. Erin looked away after a moment, gaze just as morose as she was sure hers was. She breathed a sigh as they stopped, shrugging her Master's arm from her shoulders absently.

"We'll wait until everyone else leaves. Then we can make our proper goodbyes - provided we aren't hunted in the meantime."

"You know, you aren't exactly being reassuring right now."

"You can say that again."

A familiar voice sounded just behind Seras, the tone uniquely recognizable to her so that she felt herself turn around to face it's owner almost on reflex.

"Harold?" She said in disbelief - yet there, not three meters from her, stood the worn, supposedly retired veteran, looking no worse for wear than the last time she'd seen him - some decade prior.

"Harold!" She cried, acting almost without thought as she rushed up to the man, not hesitating for a second to throw her arms around his neck in an affectionate embrace.

The action not only surprised but greatly confused Alucard, who had no recollection of the man whatsoever. He was tall, with short silvery hair combed neatly to the side, a natural cow-lick springing his bangs upwards, making his long, attractive face visible - as well as a very prominent scar adorning the left side of his face, just above the eye. It trailed from his brow along his cheek nearly to his ear, it's pinkish color offsetting his green irises in a strangely attractive way. Scars suited him.

"Oh, Harold! I thought I'd never see you again!" Seras exclaimed in both excitement and misery, continuing to cling to him. His own hand came up shortly thereafter, cradling the back of her head in a strangely intimate way, his other hand wrapping around her torso to draw her closer to him. Quite used to men behaving pervertedly around Seras, her Master expected her to react to the action - however, when she did, it was not an adversely, but rather _welcomingly_ as she buried her face deeper into his neck, sniffling pathetically as she did so and clinging to him tighter.

A strange feeling fluttered its way unbidden into his chest, making his whithered heart skip a beat - a phenomena that could be counted among the ones that were supposed to be rare for him to feel, but which Seras has been inexplicably stirring up in him like sediment in clear water as of late. He observed their interaction, trying to deduct a logical reason for her friendly behavior with him that didn't lead him down a road of jealous rage.

"And who might this be, Seras? I do believe I haven't met him." Alucard said flatly, intimidating smile coming onto his face. The two broke apart then, Seras blushing unusually brightly as she turned around to face him.

"Ah, that's right, Harold was employed when you were gone." She explained, hand coming up to scratch at her neck sheepishly. She glanced between them, something flickering in her gaze that made Alucard begin to suspect, though he couldn't be sure yet.

"Um, well this is Alucard, as I'm sure you can tell," She said to Harold, who looked up at Alucard with surprisingly little fear.

"Ah, so you're the infamous demonic vampire. Has to be nice, now that you're not on a leash anymore, huh?" He said, smiling widely at the vampire. Alucard nearly blinked. Either this man was very stupid or very clever - given that Seras seemed to like him, he would bet on the latter.

"I imagine it will be, as soon as I can be sure I won't be caged again."

"Ah, yes." Harold said, glancing around Alucard at the Knights, which now stood some ways from the coffin, having said their pieces individually. "I do suppose they won't much like you walking around without some kind of force to control you - not that Integra did much to do that, I can guess. From what I've been told, you were already a loose cannon - what difference should it be to them if you're under seals or not?"

"Interesting observation." Alucard said, grinning. "But a flawed one. Integra had the power to command me with the seals - her word was my action, whether I liked it or not." Alucard explained, slowly understanding where Seras might have found interest in the vet from.

"I see. So now with no one to order you around they're scared of what - that you'll kill them?"

"Most likely, yes."

"Hm. Well, I guess I can see why they'd be worried." He said, looking Alucard up and down. The vampire mentally took back his original assumtion - he was very much aware of the danger he stood before, he merely chose to strategically ignore it. Brave man.

"Um, and, uh, this is Harold, like I said," Seras introduced to her Master with a blush. "He's one of the few lucky ones that managed to retire on his salary and without serious injury."

"I can see that."

"Um..." She seemed to want to say more, but glanced around self-consciously. "Well, why don't you go say your condolences, Harold? I've already had my turn." Seras said, gesturing to the coffin. Harold looked down at his shoes for a moment, somber expression in place.

"Yeah, guess I should probably do that before they put her in the ground, huh?" He said with a humorless smile. He lifted his head to look back at Seras then, a contemplating expression on his face.

"Are you - well, provided you aren't chased down," He corrected, glancing back over at the Knights, "Do you think you'd be ok with us, y'know, catching up? I mean, if you haven't anything better to do. I mean, it _has_ been literally a decade since we seen each other." He offered with a sheepish smile. Seras, taken aback by the request, stammered for a response.

"Uh, sure. I mean, I'm not sure really about the time, but," She glanced over at Alucard worriedly. "Well, I'll see what I can do, ok?" She offered. Much to her surprise, he sent her a beaming smile.

"Thanks, love." He said shortly, jogging off in much too bright a mood for a funeral.

"What was that about?" Alucard asked curiously, pinning Seras with an inquisituve stare. She blushed hotly under his gaze, unsure how to voice the reality of the situation - which she knew would damn her.

"Well, me and Harold...we, uh, have...history?" She offered tenatively. An arched brow was the only response she got.

"Ahem," She cleared her throat nervously, swallowing. "In other words he's...well, he _was_...that is, _we_ used to be...a _thing_ , in a way." Seconds ticked by as she stared in mortification at the ground in front of her before her Master's booming laughter erupted forth, making her turn that much more red. Not that she supposed anyone would be surprised to find him laughing at a funeral, but still...

"That's rich. Truly. You get upset with me because my ex wife comes around, and now you have an ex boyfriend I didn't even know about appear from the woodwork? Oh, the irony!" He chuckled, in a fit.

"Hey, it's not like I asked him to be here!" She whispered at him harshly. "Though I guess I should have expected it, since he was a Hellsing employee once..."

"For the record, I didn't exactly expect my wife to come back around to be a pain in my ass either." He said, grinning typically. "Though at least you had the luxury of knowing I had an e wife beforehand."

"Hey! It wasn't relevant at the time - besides which, that's just sort of common knowledge!" She hissed at him, cheeks a brilliant shade of crimson. "And you never asked!"

"Hm. I'll have to remember to bring it back up sometime." He remarked, moving around Seras to go back to the service that was just starting up. Seras blinked as he walked away.

"Hey, don't forget me!" She cried, catching up quickly.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

The Service was short, despite the number of people in attendance - which ranged in the few hundreds at least. That fact alone made Seras a bit nervous. If the Knights decided to come after her and Alucard, they would be considerably outnumbered, and even with Alucard's strength, there'd be no guarantee that she wouldn't be taken down, or worse, killed.

"Any signs that they're making out to attack us?" She whispered to her Master, eyeing Sir Islands as he stood before the podium, giving out a speech that she honestly wasn't paying attention to.

"No. But that could change the moment all these people leave."

"Are you kidding? There's no way they'd try to take you on themselves."

"You're right about that. They wouldn't dare touch _me_." His implication struck Seras a moment later, and she was again reminded that she was in a delicate position as his Childe. She was certainly strong - she was just proud enough to admit that much - but she didn't have Alucard's invincibility on her side. A shot to the heart or head would still kill her, and she had no doubts that at least one of them was at least as good of a shot as Integra had been.

"Somehow, though, messing with the Childe of one of the strongest - if not _the_ strongest vampire in history seems like a bad move." Harold had once again appeared out of thin air, coming to stand directly behind Seras, who jumped at the sound of his voice. To date, he was one of the only humans capable of jump-scaring her.

"Harold! Don't surprise me like that! Why, if I'd of had a gun in my hand, you'd of been dead!" She whispered at him tersely, pulling on his hair for emphasis, making him cringe.

"Alright, alright." He defended, putting his hands up in surrender. "Promise I won't do it again."

"Hmph. Sure you won't." Seras pouted, crossing her arms childishly. Some things never changed.

"Good to see you still pout like a five year old." Harold commented jokingly. Seras whipped around with half a mind to slap him, but halted once she remembered where she was. Looking around at a handful of eyes watching them with clear suspicion, she composed herself, sending Harold a mean glare.

"Alright, alright, I promise to behave now," He said, still holding up his hands in surrender. "No more jokes." His smile, which seemed a permanent fixture of him somehow, fell after that, leaving Seras almost missing it.

"What are you doing over here, anyway?" She whispered.

"Figured I'd come hang out with you while I could. After all, no telling if those morons are going to try anything, in which case I imagine you'd have to go away." He said with a half-smile, though she could see the pain hidden in his eyes. She connected with it, recalling that they had separated as a result of the kinds of problems you might imagine would come about from a human and a vampire trying to play romantic lover.

"Yeah..." Seras said, gaze dropping also. They stayed that way in awkward silence for a while, in which Seras quietly acknowledged that her Master, while appearing aloof, was listening quite thoroughly.

"...Um," He said suddenly, clearing his throat quietly. " I know this seems like a strange place to do this, an' all," He said, glancing around. "But," He handed Seras a piece of folded paper. "In case I don't see you again, give me a call. I don't work anymore, so I'm pretty much always home."

"Um...thanks," She said, blinking. By the time she'd lifted her head to look at him, he had vanished again.

"Well, seems I'm not the only one who's ex wants a reconnection." Alucard remarked, a sly smirk on his face. Seras shot him daggers.

"If looks could kill." He said playfully. Just then, a bell was rung, loud, dry and hollow. It was the signal that the service, which had gone on now until well into the night, had ended, and that she was going to be buried soon.

Alucard and Seras stood patiently on the outskirts of the crowd as a few select men who were more musically gifted played a funeral anthem, followed by a latin prayer.

 _Requiem æternam dona ei, Domine_

 _Et lux perpetua luceat ei:_

 _Requiescat in pace._

 _Amen._

"What did they say, exactly?" She turned to her Master, curious. And since he spoke Latin...

 _"Eternal rest, grant unto her, O LORD,_

 _And let perpetual light shine upon her._

 _May she rest in peace._

 _Amen_." He translated, not skipping a beat. She watched as they lowered the coffin with a hollow sort of ache in her chest, as though her heart were unsure what to feel.

After she had been buried, and some of the men's wives loudly broken down into tears, Alucard unexpectedly held onto her hand and lead her away from the crowd.

"What is it?"

"Sir Islands. He's looking for you. Stay here, keep low, and stay quiet." Alucard shushed, leading her over to the food tables, where he tried to usher her behind one.

"But Master -"

"I nearly seen you killed once, Seras." His tone was both conflicted and warning at the same time. Understanding, she nodded, ducking behind the table. Not ten seconds later she heard footsteps approaching and ducked swiftly beneath them, concealing her energy so as not to be found.

"Alucard." It was Sir Islands. "Where has your Childe gone off to?"

"What should it matter to you?" To anyone else, Alucard would have sounded like an ordinary pain in the ass, but Seras could hear the guarded tone hidden in there. _'He's protecting me...'_ For some reason, that thought made her feel strange. _'Am I really that valuable to him?'_ The thought caught her off guard. Why would he defend her if she wasn't?

 _'Stop it, Seras. You're just going to work yourself up about nothing again.'_ She reminded herself, taking a deep breath and being careful to let it out very slowly so as not to make any sound.

"Just wondering. She seems to have disappeared after the service." There was clear suspicion in his voice.

"She's still around, have no fear. As long as I am here, she'll be here." At first, she nearly wanted to scream at him not to be an idiot and give her away before realizing that giving Islands the assumption she'd run away would have been worse.

"I see. And you're confident of this?" There was an uneasy silence, and she felt her Master's energy spike in anger.

"Don't you dare stand there and tell me my Childe isn't loyal to me." He snapped hotly. "And don't you dare make the assumption she would do anything to desicrate Integra either. We both gave our words to her on her death bed that we wouldn't kill any of her men," Alucard all but hissed at the man. Technically, Seras hadn't promised anything, but Sir Islands didn't need to know that. "But she said nothing about your pathetic organization."

"Making death threats are we? I should think that that isn't a very wise thing to do in your situation, vampire."

"Maybe not. But I will give you the luxury few of my other opponents had; a warning." He said sternly. "If you so much as _touch_ her, I will send _armies_ after you. And nothing you can do will stop me then."

"My, my. She's quite the treasure to you, isn't she?"

"You touch her, you die." Alucard reiterated, his aura seeping from him like hot alchohol, rapidly expanding until the air around him felt gloomy with death.

"Understood." Islands said, and seemed to have nothing more to discuss, for he then turned and began to walk away.

"Oh, but Alucard?" He called back. "From now on, you are not protected by your Master, and neither is your Childe. If any of us find _either_ of you causing trouble, we will not hesitate to end you - by _any means necessary_." The aggression in his last phrase didn't seem to suit him, which somehow made it that much more threatening. Seras swallowed under the table. Once more, she was in danger, now from two sources instead of one.

 _'If this is what being a princess means, I'll take being a soldier any day. At least then my threats are right in front of me.'_

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 **OK, that was interesting to write.**

 **Now my favorite exclaimation in the world- ASTERISKS!**

 **(Just one this time... :( )**

 *** Crimson lilies:** _A play on the classic meaning, that of Chastity. Since Alucard is the one who broke her chastity, (which is traditionally symbolized by blood anyway) I felt it fitting for him to throw in just one more "hurrah"._

 **Now, as finals are coming upon me as we speak, AND I am taking a two-week trip to California immediately after finals, I can't promise much for the next three weeks or so. Still, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this new development - Seras isn't the only one who should be jealous any more. (Mwahahahaha)**

 **Until next time! Plz, Review! Thank you! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Ok, sorry for the absence! I am back and moving things along! :)**

 **Jumping right into it -**

 **WARNINGS: the dramatic re-introduction of a character who is central to the future plot. Basically a bit of foreshadowing. Sorry if that off-sets anyone.**

 **A song that sort of introduces this new (not really) character. You're welcome.**

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 **CH XVIII**

 **''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''**

 _ **Fragile Minds**_ _by Silent Theory_

 _'''_

 _Cut me open and you'll find,_

 _A brain, heart, liver, lungs,_

 _And a knife in the spine._

 _It's chilling to know,_

 _That the last place you go,_

 _Might be where the fat lady sings._

 _Does it hurt? I don't know -_

 _And where do we go?_

 _We don't tease fragile minds with such things._

 _''_

 _So sell me down the river,_

 _First help me sell my soul,_

 _It's something I know I can deliver,_

 _I think we finally broke the mold._

 _''_

 _It's getting harder to know if I'm sane,_

 _My issues are leaking outside of my veins,_

 _Somebody save me, or end me,_

 _I haven't yet made up my mind._

 _If it lead to paranoia,_

 _Boy, you might want to hit the floor,_

 _Before exposure leads to a metamorphosis,_

 _We can't ignore._

 _Lost in a whisper and hung on a prayer,_

 _If you don't know where you're going,_

 _Any road will take you there._

 _''_

 _So sell me down the river,_

 _First help me sell my soul,_

 _It's something I know I can deliver,_

 _I think we finally broke the mold._

 _''_

 _Will I be an end to someone's destiny?_

 _Who's to know?_

 _And will I give right in to my aggression?_

 _Who's to know?_

 _Will I fall apart all alone?_

 _Who's to know?_

 _Or will I shine right through,_

 _And lay this hate to rest with all of you?_

 _''_

 _So sell me down the river,_

 _First help me sell my soul,_

 _It's something I know I can deliver,_

 _I think we finally broke the mold..._

 _''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''_

Alucard waited until the service had ended and nearly everyone - including the Knights - had left before leading Seras out from beneath the table. She stepped out rubbing her neck, which had gotten stiff from crouching.

"It is nearly morning." He remarked. She came over to stand beside him, looking around suspiciously. They'd removed everything on the table besides the cloth and table itself, leaving her undisturbed for the whole time - something she was both grateful for and resented, what with her stiff muscles.

"Nearly everyone has gone. The knights all left a while ago, and so far I haven't been able to sense them nearby." Alucard cautioned. "But that doesn't mean they aren't waiting for us out there."

"Comforting," Seras remarked sarcastically, stretching. She felt like a deer fawn, being tucked away like that until the danger passed. It made her feel elated and bugged at the same time.

"We will be leaving soon." He said, looking towards the setting moon, a strangely whistful look in his eyes. Seras came beside him, placing her hands on his arm comfortingly.

"I'm going to miss it. Hellsing." She remarked sadly, bowing her head. "I know it was more like a prison to you, but...it was _home_ , to me."

"Actually," Seras looked up at her Master, who's gaze had not altered. "Hellsing...the _building_ , that was my prison." She looked at him in surprise as he said this. "That room, those chains...those were my prison." His eyes fell level, staring towards where Integra's headstone now lie, the smell of fresh earth still strong in the air. "But she... _she_ was my home." Seras felt the tears sting her eyes before she could stop them, and knew that had her Master been anyone else, he'd of been doubled over in distress right now. The rawness of his voice as he spoke of her said that much.

"Come. Now that everyone has gone, we can finally say our farewells in peace."

Alucard lead her to the stone, where someone had been kind enough to place both their flowers alongside everyone elses.

"Will...Will I ever be able to come back?" Seras whispered. She knew her Master understood what she was talking about.

"Maybe." He said, voice equally as soft and melancholy. "I, myself, may return here to see her again." Seras didn't avert her gaze, which stayed stubbornly glued to the stone, her mind memorizing every grain, every dip and curve where the letters read INTEGRA FAIRBROOKES WINGATES HELLSING, DIED AGE 62.

"...When are we leaving?"

"Ideally, as soon as tomorrow evening," Seras did look over at him this time, prepared to argue, but he cut her off. "However, I still have to figure out what to do about Arvin. I need time to plan - which means you get one extra night to say your farewells to the living. Including your ex boyfriend." Seras nearly sent him a glare at the _perfectly precise_ tone he used when mentioning Harold.

"And what of Amy?" She shot back. He didn't seem phased in the slightest.

"She is not of any real concern - to you or to me." He said non-chalantly. "But you raise a point. She can't hang around forever - but for now, you'll just have to tolerate her." Seras wanted to bite some sassy remark back at him, but couldn't find it in her heart to do so. He'd been through enough today without them fighting. They both had.

"I understand."

An uneasy silence fell upon them, and as they stood before Integra's grave with heads bowed in mirror positions of greif, another set of eyes watched with growing awe.

"Guess she meant a lot to them." Jean remarked to one of his coworkers, who was helping him finish up teardown.

"Huh?" His friend, Markus, said, turning away from the table he was trying to fold to observe the two vampires quietly mourning over Integra's grave. "Oh. Well, Seras, I kind of get, but Alucard..." His voice was laced with uncertain suspicion. Jean had to admit that he could understand, but...

"Alucard...might be a monster," Jean said quietly. "But I like to think he's not as evil as everybody thinks he is. Sure, he's got his bad days, but we all have an ugly side."

"He just shows it more than most?" Markus half-mocked. "Tsk. You see too much of the good in people. Believe all you want to that there's some kind of soft spot in that freak of nature, but what I've seen him do..." Markus nearly shuddered. "He isn't someone you mess around with, Jean. He's crazy. Literally crazy." A moment of silence ensued before Jean quite unexpectedly dropped the side of the table they were carrying, making Markus jerk forward painfully.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"He isn't!" Jean nearly shouted. He checked quickly to see if the vampire's had heard him, but only Seras had lifted her head to look at him. He turned quickly back on Markus. "He isn't crazy...not as much as you'd think, anyway." Jean defended. _'I can't believe I'm defending a vampire that has, per my recollection over the past seven years, threatened to eat me twice.'_ He thought. "Alucard...he _loved_ her. He loves both of them, Seras and Integra. Why else would he willingly serve a human?" Markus looked taken aback. "And don't you dare try to argue that he didn't do it willingly. There are so many rules he could easily have broken, if he'd wanted to. But he didn't."

"Well, sure, but..."

"But nothing." Jean said astutely, working himself into a tizzy. "You can be afraid of him all you want. I don't blame you for being so scared," Jean lowered his voice now. "Hell, he _still_ terrifies me. But I don't think he's crazy for it."

"Then what do ya think? Cause if that isn't crazy to you, I'd sure like to know what is."

"He isn't crazy!" Jean defended again. "He's just..." the man thought back to the room Integra had died in, how the shadows, which he'd been afraid would suffocate him, instead parted for him to get through. Whether it had been Alucard or Seras, he didn't know. But he remembered. He heard the vampire Alucard cry in rage as his beloved Master died right in front of him. He remembered feeling the deepest of pity and empathy for the creature in that moment of pain - people didn't cry out like that, in a tone like that, unless they'd been hurt like that before.

"He's just what?" Markus prompted.

"... _Broken_." Jean decided on, tone somber. "I think Integra once called him a 'broken little boy in the body of a monster'. I didn't really believe her until I heard him..." Jean's expression threatened to spill tears from his glassy eyes. "When Integra passed away, he was _right there_ beside her. Both of them were. And I heard him - I heard Alucard cry like someone had stabbed him deep." Jean said in a voice just above a whisper. Markus only looked on with sympathetic eyes. "You...Someone doesn't just cry like that." Jean asserted. Markus only nodded.

"I see what you mean - but still, I wouldn't be feeling too much pity for him. He is, after all, still a vampire. A _bad_ vampire." Markus warned gently. "He'll eat you before you can blink if you aren't paying enough attention. It's like living with a lion - only now, his tamer is dead." Markus cautioned, watching Jean in like. "And he is free to roam as he wishes."

"I guess you have a point." Jean stated, sobering up. He turned to watch Seras, who was still watching him. Alucard hadn't moved, but Jean knew he was listening. "But...maybe it's for the better." He seen Markus' jaw nearly hit the ground from his periphery.

"Have you gone insane, man?" Markus asked incredulously. "He's a bloody vampire. Literally, _bloody_!" Markus all but squeaked, his tone rising as he grew more agitated.

"Maybe that's so." Jean replied calmly, watching the red-clad vampire in question. "But don't lions belong in the wild?"

"Not if they're going to eat people, they don't!"

"And how's it his fault for that, huh?" The question threw Markus off guard. He blinked, unsure how to respond.

"A vampire's got to eat people. They don't have any choice." Jean clarified. Markus' expression softened then, understanding.

"I get what you're sayin' man," the older vet replied. "And I can see why you think that way. But he's a venerate monster. He's admitted it himself." Markus argued, keeping his tone gentle so as not to ruffle his friend any more. "Look, I'm not gonna hold it against you if you feel bad for the guy. Just...don't be stupid about it. He's dangerous, Jean. _Real_ dangerous."

"I understand." Jean looked back at Markus then, a soft smile coming onto his face. "C'mon. Let's finish this up and go do somethin', 'kay?" Jean offered. "Help keep our minds off this gloomy business."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Markus said, glancing worriedly over at the two vampires - and turning white as a sheet when they suddenly appeared just behind Jean's back.

"Markus?" Jean asked, worried. In a split second, he could feel something very light tickle the back of his neck, and knew even before he looked that one of them was behind him. He only prayed it wasn't the bigger one.

"You've got some nerve, human." Ah, crap. Well, he was toast.

"What? It's not like I offended you." Jean mumbled, swallowing thickly. Man, he was such a dumbass! How could he expect to talk about the devil without summoning him?!

"There's only one other human I've ever heard talk about me that way besides her." Jean cringed inside, knowing who exactly he meant by "her".

"A-and?" Jean choked, feeling like razors were scraping his back just from the anxiety of knowing there was a predatory beast right behind him.

"He was one of very few people I ever called a friend."

This surprised all parties watching.

Jean slowly turned around to face the vampire, his stance wary and eyes inquisitive. He daren't meet Alucard's eyes, knowing fully well how dangerous that could be, but looked up at his face shamelessly, noticing for the first time how handsome he actually was up close. Not a wonder he'd had so many wives.

"Um..." Jeam mumbled, unsure what to do now.

"Thank you." Jean's eyes bugged.

"Um, for what?" the human stuttered.

"For having some pity for this old fool. Normally I detest it when people claim to feel sorry for me. But like him, you have shown an uncanny sort of tolerance for not only me, but Seras as well. You are a friend of hers, are you not?" Alucard asked, leaving Jean to mentally trip over himself looking for a response, glancing at Seras with both worry and confliction.

"Um, sure." Jean replied, looking at Seras. Her gaze seemed as uncertain as his own. "Yeah, I guess you could call us friends. I mean, she's - well, she _was_ my superior." a mutual glaze of pain clouded both their visions for a breif moment. Jean knew as well as Seras did, he imagined, that she was going away. To say it didn't sting the young man like an angry scorpion would be a lie.

"Then I thank you for being there for her...when I could not be." Seras shot her Master a concerned and surprised look, taking mental note of what his voice sounded like right then, for the expression of remorse was so rare to see in him that it warranted mental documentation.

"Oh, um, sure." Jean replied awkwardly. "I mean, she's a good girl. Maybe a little bit of a sassy cat," Jean smiled, giving Seras an almost playful look. "But she's been a joy to have around. She's a good one, she is." He suddenly turned on Alucard a serious expression, though his childish frame made it seem more cute than intimidating. "Which is why, as her friend, I request - no, _demand_ that she is well taken care of." Glancing behind him breifly, Jean seen Markus, who looked like he was about to faint. A deep, mirthy chuckle drew his attention back to Alucard with the swiftness of a rubber band being snapped on his behind.

"You really do have some balls, kid." Alucard smiled, expression blessedly amused rather than agitated. "Have no fear. I give you my word she'll be treated like a princess." Seras shot daggers at him then, not at all amused by his unspoken implication, though if the sly, amused smirk on his face was any indication, he _intended_ to unsettle her with it.

Damn cheeky bastard.

"Good." Jean nodded astutely, his freckled face stern in the adorable way of a toddler making their father swear not to tell mom a secret. It made Seras smile to see him concerned about her. " You are too pure for this world..." Seras murmrured, shaking her head as she approached Jean, pleased smile in place.

"Seras..." Jean said, his voice suddenly tainted with pain. Seras could tell he wanted to cry - not that it'd be the first time she had seen him cry.

She remembered it like it was yesterday. She'd been walking down the hallways and heard a muffled noise from one of the broomclosets. Curious, she'd opened the dark room, letting the moonlight from the large windows light her view of a smallish boy, newly recruited and just barely eighteen, curled up into the fetal position and bawling his eyes out. Upon seeing her, he recoiled, but out of embarrassment more than fear. He'd had his first "big" mission that night - a necessary evil for all new recruits, but one which didn't always settle well with the younger ones.

"Oh," Seras had cooed at him. "Why're you in here all alone, huh?" Jean had seemed hesitant to reply.

"The other men..." He sniffled. "Don't tell them, okay?" The fear in his eyes then was not fear of her, but of them. Jean was a pretty stereotypical nerd, not at all the sort you'd expect to be able to wield a gun, never mind kill anyone. He was lagging in training, and could barely keep up as it was. The poor boy was thin as a twig, and could barely lift twenty kilos. Yet, he tried harder than anyone to be the best he could be, and was always nice to everyone, even the resident vampires.

She could understand, then, his fear of being ostracized. The other men often had picked on him for being the last one in line, the last one up, the last one ready, and particularly the last one to shoot. They mocked him all the time that he'd wind up dead one day if he didn't learn to shoot first and ask questions later. But this was a line of thinking, Seras came to understand later, that didn't suit the soldier at all.

And he was a godsend for it, in her opinion.

"Hey, it's okay. You know, I was really scared the first time I went out on a mission like that, too." She'd whispered to him, sitting down in the threshold of the closet door. He glanced at her warily, this time seeming genuinely unsure of her.

"Don't worry, I don't bite. Promise." She smiled warmly at him. "You can always ask Integra for proof. Damn woman's been trying to goad me into hunting for twenty seven damn years. Why she insists I do, I know not, but..." Seeing that she wasn't helping, she'd changed tactics.

"Hey, y'know what?"

"Hm?"

"I don't blame you for crying. In fact, I think it's a good thing." His shocked expression had been priceless, in her opinion. Clearly no one had ever told him it was okay to cry. "Well, as long as you're willing to cry, even in private, then I think that it shows that you can handle it. It's the guys who never cry that really scare me here. They're usually the ones that go mad or get killed."

"Really?" He'd replied, a mixture of awe and incredulousness in his high, child-like voice.

"Really." She nodded, shifting a bit closer to him, testing her limits. He noticed the shift, and regarded her warily, but hadn't backed away. Instead, he, too, shifted closer. He sniffled after a long, gentle pause.

"Thanks. For being understanding and such. Guess Harold was right - you really are sweet." He'd smiled then, a beamish kind of thing that made her heart flutter in a way that felt foreign to her at the time.

Now, standing before the boy, who's green-blue eyes had become glassy and which threatened tears, she gave him the same gente, understanding smile she had back then, and invited him to come into her arms, to which he gladly obliged.

"I'm gonna miss you, Seras." She heard more than smelled the tears this time, but didn't blame him for them in the least. She'd probably be crying now too, if her Master hadn't been watching.

"Hey, now, I'm not leaving yet." She cooed, rocking slightly as she held him like a child - something that would have bothered her, had he been anyone else. But Jean...Jean _was_ a child. He wasn't childish, per say - in fact, he was more mature than most of the men she'd trained at his age. He was certainly more mature than she had been back when she _felt_ his age. Yet, there was a residual child-like-ness that seemed to surround him, even though he was over twenty eight now. He certainly didn't look like it, with his round, freckled face and big, bright eyes that always seemed to have an innocent kind of curiosity in them. He was a kid who was wondered by the world, and a soldier that was tougher, in her opinion, than anyone she'd met, even as he cried on her shoulder.

"Promise you'll say goodbye before you go?" Seras' heart gave a heavy throb at this.

"Of course - what kind of friend would I be if I didn't?" She joked, though her heart felt anything but light right then.

Jean pulled away, and Seras, quite forgetting the company she kept right then, gently cupped his head in her hands, her thumbs running over his puffy, tear-stained face with the tenderness of a mother. Then, without giving any thought to the matter, she softly pressed a kiss on his brow, earning a nudge of his head against her jaw in reciprocal affection.

To Markus, who had recovered from his faint spell, the sight was totally normal. Those two had hit it off since day one, and Seras had sort of become a surrogate mama for the boy, who Markus had to admit really needed one. Jean...he was never meant to be a soldier. Everyone in Hellsing knew that - even Integra had agreed when he brought it up.

"What do you mean, you agree?" He'd demanded after posing his concerns about Jean.

"I agree. That boy is no more fit to wield a gun than you are a dress." Integra had replied, puffing at her cigar. "But he has something to bring to the table nontheless."

"And that would be?"

"Integrity. Conscience. Compassion. Things there aren't nearly enough of in our line of work." She had stood then, stance commanding of attention in a casual sort of way. "Many of our men consider each other like brothers off the battlefield, but once they're thrown into the fray, they fall apart and get spooked. The result of too little activity, I feel." She puffed again. "Only the old vets remember the days of Hell we went through during the neo-nazi uprising, which I trust you've heard about." Markus had nodded. "Point being, it's made our men weak and lazy. They can't be trusted on their own anymore, and with Alucard gone, there's no one besides me that has the resolve to lead them to their imminent death with a smile on my face."

"And you honestly believe Jean can do that?" Markus asked incredulously.

"No." She'd replied, putting out her cigar. "I don't think he could shoot a fully loaded assault rifle without pissing himself, never mind leading troops to battle."

"Then why? Why recruit someone like that, who's more bookworm than berzerker?"

"Because we've had our share of 'berzerkers' in my time, Markus." Her tone had shifted then, become more grave. "And in all those years, we've seen more tragedy and bloodshed - _I_ have seen more tragedy and bloodshed, than any human ought to." He became somber then, reminded of his place in that instance. "What I think he brings is not militant power - not physical strength or good aim, but _human_ power."

"What do you mean?"

"Fighting monsters often makes you become one at some point. After all, it takes a monster to kill a monster. That's the entire reason why Alucard was ever captured." He'd ignored back then the sharp look of pain that had evanesced her visible eye, brought on by feelings she apparently had for her missing servant. "But Jean...he is _human_ , through and through. He's weak, skittish, and moody - but he's also smart, and always curious. His ability to pick up on new subjects and memorize routines is ridiculous. He only had to be shown how to disassemble a fully automatic _once_ before being able to copy it. His skills of 'monkey see, monkey do' are astounding. But that's not the only reason I recruited him." She turned to face the window then, adding an element of dramatic tension to the air, though whether it had been intentional, he could not say.

"I believe Jean has the ability to unite people. Even, maybe, _not-human_ people."

"What exactly are you saying?"

"I'm tired of fighting, Markus." She'd said, and by the way she sounded, he believed her. "I know it seems silly, probably - a Hellsing trying to find peace with the vampires. But even I grow weary of this war. I am just too old and tired to keep fighting it anymore. That's why I refuse to birth a descendant. That's why I refuse to carry on this line any longer. The war will continue, I am sure - but..." Markus had a sense back then she'd been hiding something, but never got around to asking her about it.

Watching Jean interact with Seras over the years had given him insight into what she'd meant - those two were like paper and glue. As much as it was seen as taboo, he would venture to assume that Seras was Jean's best friend. As for whether that was reciprocal...

Markus looked over at Alucard then, his dark brown eyes hardnening at what he seen. The older vampire had an unreadable expression, which was unto itself telling, as he observed Seras and Jean's familial interaction. A sudden lump began to form in the older soldier's belly as he observed their observer. Something about the vampire didn't set right with him just then - though rare was it that anything Alucard did settled well with him - and it made him more concerned than ever for Jean's safety around the now master-less, predatory vampire.

"Hate to interrupt," Markus spoke up, clearing his throat. Jean turned to him, sobered up from his crying though still in Seras' sweet, motherly embrace. "But I do believe we had plans, Jean?" Markus hinted. A look of embarrassed clarity dawned on the young man's face, and he pulled away from Seras, giving her an apologetic look that said more than his words ever could.

"It's alright. We still have two days. Besides," Seras, finally recalling that her Master stood beside her, blushed furiously. "I think I have something I need to take care of. See you tomorrow?"

"Agreed." Jean said, beaming his pearly, child-like smile at her. In a way, it broke Markus' heart to see it, but he could think of that later.

"C'mon, Jean, or I'll leave you behind." Markus said, giving Alucard one last, wary glance. The bastard seemed to have caught onto the fact he was making him uncomfortable, for a sarcastic grin had begun to tug at his lips. Markus began to turn away, fooling himself for the moment into believing he was safe turning his back to the predator, despite every instinct in his body telling him elsewise.

"Coming!" Jean said, bounding ahead of him with a wave back to Seras. Markus walked some distance away before turning and calling his farewells - only this time, he didn't miss the sour look on Alucard's face, nor who it was directed at. Rather than focusing on Jean, though, his frown was turned instead on his own blood, who stood beside him looking quite cheery by contrast.

 _'Lord in Heaven, I know it's not in your character to save the souls of the damned. But please, for this one, for this sweet, cursed child, give her a chance to escape the Devil's claws - before he puts his curse on her further, before it is too late...if anyone deserves your redemption, it is her.'_

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 **Hm...wonder why the characters keep praying for Seras' safety...**

 **Now, there's a lot to chew on in here, so don't feel shy about questions if you've got em. (Just understand that I can't spoil, of course.)**

 **For the record, I AM basing Alucard's personality here on Bram Stoker's example. I have recently picked up the book again after not reading it for some six years. (And MAN did I miss a lot back then). If you are familiar with the book, then you should see where this is going, as far as being concerned for Seras goes. *hint, hint*. This fic was partially inspired by that book as well, and as such there are subtle references dotted all over here, if you should find yourself of the sort to look for them.**

 **Chapters to come (hard to tell which at this point) will attack the biggest plot hole in Hellsing Ultimate, with some help from Jean, of course, so you've all got that to look forward to!**

 **With these parting thoughts, I bid you Adieu - Y'all know what to do from here. :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Ok, I never planned on making this more than 20 chapters, but it looks like it will be much longer. I may break it up into two or three parts, depending on how long this gets. (and by the looks of it, we could be talking over 50 chapters...so, yeah.) right now we will call 35 my maximum cutoff point before beginning a sequel, though you can resonably expect that to be lower, depending on where my muse takes me. (there is an outline for this, but hell, I never stick to outlines...don't know why I even bother, honestly.)**

 **With that, it's time to sort out how Harold flows into this.**

 **WARNINGS:** __ **Angst. The over-involvement of exes who should be minding their own business.**

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 **CH XIX**

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Seras woke up blearily, rubbing her eyes. She was once again nestled into her Master's coffin, pressed snugly up against him. He was spooning her from behind, just as he usually was, his arm draped around her comfortingly. Once again, Seras had to sigh in sheer elation - here, in his arms like this, she felt safe. Like nothing in the world could touch her.

Here, and here only, did she truly _feel_ immortal.

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Amy had been waiting. Patient as a slinking panther, she waited for the chains to be cut loose from her beloved.

Freed at last, her former husband now slept soundly beside his new play-thing. How sweet it seemed that the dear hadn't caught onto yet what she knew very well about the man. No - perhaps "caught on" wasn't the right term. She was his Childe, after all; she knew, most likely, just how powerful and dangerous her Master turned lover could be.

But somehow, Amy got the sense she didn't understand her situation yet.

Alucard was a venerable genius. Psychotic, maybe, but a genuis nonetheless. His IQ was through the roof and then some, so far as she could ascertain. But what gave him the advantage of being able to out-wit and manipulate his opponents also came with a drawback, one familiar to those of a higher intellectual standing - cycling.

Alucard had cycles - cycles of mania, cycles of calm, and cycles of completely bat-shit insane. But within these psychological cycles fell other cycles; habits and patterns of routine that were unavoidable for someone like him. He would rotate between not only mental states, but objects, people, interests, etc. What interested him one day bored him the next, and a bored Alucard was by far the most dangerous one. It was boredom that lead him to chase after Mina Murray and to enslave that poor woman she'd gone on with.* It was boredom that lead him to kill three of the wives he'd had before her. It was boredom that had lead him to pursue her in the first place, and it was boredom that caused him to discard her.

That young, sweet thing called Seras - she wouldn't last a month as his wife, she was sure. And she knew, watching the old vampire haunt the girl, hovering over her like a bee protecting honey - she knew all the signs. He intended to pursue her, to court her, and very likely to wed her.

It was a mistake.

Whatever he might have seen in Seras, Amy knew it wasn't love. That man couldn't feel such a thing, despite once proclaiming the opposite. But she knew - she could see it whenever he touched her, that she was _something_ to him. But whatever that something was, Amy was confident that Seras was being tricked into believing it wasn't what it really was. Just like she had been. Just like _all_ Alucard's wives had ever been. They were tools, means to his own ends - the man could not love! He could hate, but never love!**

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Seras was up and about early, anxious to see her friends before she had to go. She intended to go into the upstairs quarters to find Jean, knowing he would be most distraught if he didn't get to see her, but instead ran into Harold wandering down the hallways.

"Evening, Seras." The old vet smiled kindly at her. Calling him old might be an overstatement - the man was only in his early forties, at best, though he somehow looked younger.

"Oh, hey Harold." Seras greeted, blushing a bit. She remembered her Master's all too precise words regarding the man, and figured now was as good a time as any to make good on them.

"So, when are you leaving?" Harold asked suddenly, beating Seras to the punch.

"I leave tomorrow evening, I believe."

"So soon?" Harold said, surprised.

"Yeah...I guess things aren't doing too well in Romania, so Master - I mean, Alucard, has to go back soon in order to clean up the mess." Seras mentally face-palmed. She really needed to get used to not addressing her Master as Master in front of people. In a public situation, it often made things awkward.

Harold didn't seem to mind in the least, though, and chuckled softly in amusement. "You two really do have an interesting relationship, don't you?"

"Oh, you have _no_ idea." Seras said sheepishly, nerves making her voice rise in pitch for a moment. A comfortable silence followed.

"Hey, I know you're probably busy, but...do you think we could talk?" Harold asked, and Seras could tell by the waver in his usually strong, timbre voice that he was just as nervous asking as she became when he said it.

"Um, sure. Of course." She offered, motioning to a nearby bench, situated so as to allow one to view outside the large, glass windows of the hallway, which appeared to glow in the dimming twilight, the silvery-blue shadows making for interesting reflections on the corners of the glass.

They both sat down on the bench awkwardly, avoiding touching each other. Seras didn't want to think about what her Master would do if she came down there smelling like another man had been all over her. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"You. Me. Us. The fact you are leaving, probably forever." He said it with a smile, but she seen the pain in his eyes.

"I see." She replied quietly. She honestly anticipated this conversation, but imagining it and being in the thick of it produced very different feelings.

"Listen, I don't want things to be...weird, between us." He said after a moment, and Seras nearly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want it to be weird either.

"I understand - I don't want that either." She smiled softly at him, enticing a similar expression on his own face.

"That's good." Harold suddenly slid much closer to Seras, and though not touching her, he came very close. It was enough to make her reel a tiny bit.

"So...look, I know...I know we didn't exactly end on a glorious note." Harold began, and Seras had to resist shifting uncomfortably - not because she didn't trust Harold, but because she didn't trust herself. "But we're still friends, right?"

"Of course," She replied, a little too hastily for her liking. Damn, this was harder than she imagined it would be.

"Well...then I have a favor to ask." Harold's voice suddenly became quiet in an uneasy kind of way, as though he were afraid to ask.

"Sure, go ahead." She encouraged, confused by his behavior. Harold took a deep breath, and Seras mentally steeled herself, expecting it to be challenging just by the way he was holding himself at present.

"I want you to leave your Master."

What?

"Hear me out, before you get upset. I know he means a lot to you...somehow." Harold explained hastily, holding up his hands placatingly. "But I don't think he's good for you, if you get what I mean."

"No, I'm afraid I don't." Seras hadn't meant to snap at him, but though she'd heard those same words before, they somehow sounded different coming from him.

"Hey, just listen, okay?" Harold said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder in a way that should have made her uncomfortable, but which made her feel weirdly calm. "Listen, I've been talking with the boys. Now, I know they are hardly the experts here," Harold said, speaking in such a way as to inform Seras silently of his present attempt at getting her to keep her temper. Not a great sign. "But they've told me things about...about the way he treats you." Seras turned a suspicious eye on him, and he caught it quickly, sighing. "I just want to know the truth." Seras swallowed, preparing for whatever may come.

"They - I won't say who - tell me that...that he _hurts_ you. Is that true?" Harold asked, his jade eyes concerned and innocently inquisitive. Damnit. He knew her too well.

"I'm afraid you'd have to be more specific." She dodged. "I mean, some amount of pain is necessary to grow, right?"

"That might be, but Seras," His voice became serious now. "I want to know: does he hit you?"

The question threw her off, not because she hadn't been expecting it - Harold was about as subtle as a fog horn - but because it made her think. Initially, she couldn't recall her Master ever hitting her - but something in the back of her mind halted that assumption immediately, smothering it in a cloud of doubt before it could fully register. Thinking back on it...

She could remember once, a very long time ago, when he'd gotten a little rough with her during the Millenium attack. That was her first, first-hand experience with his temper. It wasn't until after he came back, thirty years later, that she'd actually been _hit_ by him, and it hadn't been anything more than pushing her out of the way, effectively.

Or, so she believed.

"Well, I mean, we've sparred ; he insists I learn hand-to-hand combat, so I guess he's hit me then - sometimes pretty hard - but I don't think he's ever hit me just because." Harold's expression shifted from horror to sadness in an instant, and he shook his head slowly at her, eyes closing contemplatavely.

"It's never 'just because' Seras, and you know it." His tone, that of a condescending parent, shocked and alarmed her. She'd never seen Harold angry, not once in the seventeen years she'd known the man.

"If he hits you, and never says sorry, then he'll just keep hitting you. Come on, Seras. You used to be a police officer - you know how people like him are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Seras shot back indignantly.

"Look, I get that you care about him, but if he's abusing you -"

"Abuse?" Seras parrotted. The word stuck in her mind for some reason, making her train of thought hit the e-brake. Why did that word seem to echo?

Harold seemed to sense the abrupt shift in her demeanor. He placed gentle arms around Seras' shoulders, pulling her closer to him yet. Part of Seras' mind threw up red flags and sirens, warning her that this was a bad idea.

"You're scared right now because of him, aren't you? Because you're afraid he'll get angry if he smells me on you." She looked at Harold in astonishment that was far from new to her. This man was practically a mind-reader, and he was only mortal. Seras once often entertained the idea that he was literally psychic, but had long dismissed those thoughts in favor of acknowledging that he just had an abnormally keen sense of intuition.

"I'm right, aren't I?" He asked. Not knowing how else to respond, she nodded solemnly, leaning into him. She didn't know why, but it felt right to do just then. In response, Harold only hugged her closer, bringing her head to lay on his shoulder while his lips touched her hair.

"Shhh." He shushed her despite her silence, seeming to know that her mind was anything but quiet just then. She felt greatly comforted, in a way, knowing that he still cared about her enough to do this. Temporarily dismissing her concerns about Alucard, she allowed herself the reprieve from her mental and emotional barriers, and within minutes, a soft sob could be heard echoing in the empty hallway.

"Shhh." He quieted, rubbing her arms soothingly. One hand found the back of her head and pressed her face into the crook of his neck - a move he made very, very consciously, for he quite remembered, no matter how much he wished he could forget, what had happened the last time he was careless about exposing his neck to the female vampire.

"I..." She tried, but the words caught in her throat. She wanted to say that she knew Alucard would be mad, but a question had popped into her head, one that had brought on this fit in the first place. _'Why? Why should he care? I mean, I don't even know what we are.'_ And there it was, that one phrase, those few words, which kept the tears flowing inexplicably down her face in red, bloody streaks. _'I don't even know what we are.'_

"I know, baby, I know. It hurts." Harold comforted her. The truth of his words made her cry harder, for he truly didn't know the half of it. "And it's really scary. But that's why I wanted you to leave, as soon as you can. I don't want you to be afraid." She looked up at him with bloody tear-tracks, and was almost surprised - almost - when he didn't react to them in the slightest. "Listen, Seras, I -"

"I know." She intercepted, a small smile appearing on her face. She knew exactly what he was going to say, but wasn't sure she actually wanted to hear it, if only because of her own uncertain heart. Harold smiled reassuringly back at her, wiping the blood from her face without hesitation. His hand lingered on her cheek, his face entirely too close to hers to be considered safe.

"Um, Harold, maybe -" She began uncertainly, trying half-heartedly to reel from his warm hand - but she didn't make it very far, because within the next second his warm, soft lips pressed onto her own.

It had been a long time since they'd kissed - nearly a full decade - but she hadn't forgotten what it felt like at all. Kissing a human was nothing new to her - she often used her "coyness" to hunt when she wasn't given any other choice by measure of injury or orders, though she _still_ didn't understand why Integra _wanted_ her to eat humans - but kissing Harold had always felt different, somehow. Maybe it was the emotional bond they had shared, but now, with his lips pressed ever so tenderly to her own, she couldn't resist being swept away into a different time - a time when her Master was destined, according to the late Integra, never to come back, a time when it was just her and him against the world. A time when she had been fragile and broken, lost and directionless, and which he had come like a knight in silver armor to come save her. (Not that she wasn't kicking and screaming the entire time he carried her off).

They kissed in a slow, easy fashion for a moment before her wits came back about her and Seras abruptly pushed him away. She shot him a look that was at once both stern and apologetic. "We can't, Harold...I..." She took a deep breath, knowing he wasn't going to like what she said next. "I already belong to him...in _that_ way." It took her ex a moment to process this, and by the time he did, his neck had begun to turn scarlet - and not from her blood, either.

"What?! You - you're _sleeping_ with him now?" Harold's voice was more incredulous than anything, but she seen more than heard his anger when his face began to redden, for Harold had never yelled at anyone, she was sure. At least, he didn't act it. "Seras, you realize what he'll do to you?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't." She snapped back again, heatedly this time, feeling suddenly stressed by the situation. Even though Harold wasn't yelling at her, it still felt like he was.

"Seras," Harold said after a moment, his voice betraying an unspoken apology. "Look, I'm sorry. But I really don't think it's a good idea that you're around him all the time. He might..." He looked her up and down suspiciously. "Do something to you, y'know?" He sighed. "I just don't want to be the one who gets a phone call next saying someone I love has died, is all. So please, be careful. For me?" He pleaded.

"You think Alucard would _kill_ me?" Seras asked, surprised he would even assume such a thing.

"Please, Seras?" Harold pleaded more intensely. "Promise me. I want your word." A long, uneasy silence weighed down on Seras then, her shoulder's becoming painfully tense from the weight of something she daren't try to imagine.

"Promise?" Harold prompted. Seras let out a drawn-out sigh.

"I promise." She said, barely above a whisper. Sensing, perhaps, that he'd done enough, Harold stood.

"I have to be somewhere soon," He excused. "But I promise you myself that I'll be back before morning." He seemed to want to leave, but stopped short. Looking up to try and see what had stopped him, she was abruptly met with another kiss, this time (thankfully) pressed to her brow.

"Be safe, Seras. You can call me any time, for _any_ reason." The seriousness with which he said this somewhat confused her, for at that moment it did not feel as though he was speaking to just her anymore.

"Ok." She replied quietly, unsure what else to say. And with that, and nothing more, Harold went on his way, leaving Seras alone with her thoughts.

Or, so she initially assumed.

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 **I know, I know, I am EVIL!**

 **But this was SUCH a good cliff hanger - I just couldn't pass it up. :D**

 **Now, for the long-absent (too long in my opinion, because I really love this word)**

 **ASTERISKS!**

 ***Mina Murray and the woman Alucard "enslaved":** _This is straight out of Dracula, folks. The woman in question is Lucy Westenra - a character I think is far too overlooked for her crucial role. In the book, Dracula pretty much used her as a "Sanguine" - a blood-slave.(More about those later, FYI) He fed on her night after night in the book - this, of course, isn't entirely possible within the realm of the Hellsing universe; however, it isn't unreasonable to assume he did enslave her in some other way, or that he possibly changed her into a vampire at some point before killing her later._

 **I'm actually going to quote for this one:**

 **** -** _ **"**_ _That man couldn't feel such a thing, despite once proclaiming the opposite...Just like all Alucard's wives had ever been. They were tools, means to his own ends - the man could not love! He could hate, but never love!**"_

 _To anyone familar with the book, this is a very familar line. To anyone, really, familiar with Dracula, this is a familar kind of line._

 _Originally, when confronting his "wives" (never claimed as such in the books - actually he called them his "children") one of them cried out a line similar to this, claiming he could never love them. Dracula, quite obviously stung by the remark, then proclaimed that he COULD love, but (later) that his heart was dusty and misused. (Paraphrasing that, no quote needed)._

 _I put that in there as A) foreshadowing and B) a not too subtle tip-off to the novel. Plus, it just adds class._

 **Alright, alright, y'all know what to do - who, do you suppose, Seras meets in the hallway? (teheheheheh). You'll find out next chapter!**

 **Until then, I bid thee adieu!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Whoo! Chapter 20!**

 **I want to say THANK YOU to the community - without you, this fic would never have gotten this far. Thank you. :3**

 **Moving on!**

 **WARNING: Drama. Oh, so much drama. Blood. Violence. Animalistic behavior, because they're called "cat-fights" for a reason.**

 **This song stands in for Alucard's POV here, in a way. It seemed to fit very well into the rythm of things, in any case. :P**

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 **CH XX**

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" _ **Bad Apple"**_

 _English cover by Lizz Robinette_

 _Original by Pat McCarthy_

 _'''_

 _Ever on and on, I continue circling_

 _With nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony_

 _'Till slowly I forget, and my heart starts vanishing_

 _And suddenly I see that I can't break free, I'm –_

 _'''_

 _Slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity,_

 _With nothing but my pain and the paralyzing agony_

 _To tell me who I am,_

 _Who I was,_

 _Uncertainty enveloping my mind 'till I can't break free, and –_

 _'''_

 _Maybe it's a dream,_

 _Maybe nothing else is real,_

 _But it wouldn't mean a thing, If I told you how I feel,_

 _So I'm tired of all the pain, of the misery inside,_

 _And I wish that I could live, feeling nothing but the night;_

 _You can tell me what to say, you can tell me where to go,_

 _But I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know;_

 _If I make another move,_

 _There'll be no more turning back,_

 _Because everything will change and it all will fade to black._

 _'''_

 _Will tomorrow ever come?_

 _Will I make it through the night?_

 _Will there ever be a place for the broken in the light?_

 _Am I hurting?_

 _Am I sad?_

 _Should I stay or should I go?_

 _I've forgotten how to tell –_

 _Did I ever even know?_

 _Can I take another step?_

 _I've done everything I can;_

 _All the people that I see,_

 _I will never understand._

 _If I find a way to change,_

 _If I step into the light,_

 _Then I'll never be the same, and it all will fade to white..._

…

 _Ever on and on, I continue circling,_

 _With nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony_

 _'Till slowly I forget, and my heart starts vanishing_

 _And suddenly I see that I can't break free, I'm –_

 _'''_

 _Slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity_

 _With nothing but my pain and the paralyzing agony_

 _To tell me who I am,_

 _Who I was,_

 _Uncertainty enveloping my mind 'till I can't break free, and –_

 _'''_

 _Maybe it's a dream, maybe nothing else is real,_

 _But it wouldn't mean a thing, if I told you how I feel._

 _So I'm tired of all the pain, of the misery inside,_

 _And I wish than I could live, feeling nothing but the night;_

 _You can tell me what to say,_

 _You can tell me where to go,_

 _But I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know;_

 _If I make another move, there'll be no more turning back,_

 _Because everything will change, and it all will fade to black –_

 _'''_

 _If I make another move, if I take another step,_

 _Then it all would fall apart,_

 _There'd be nothing of me left._

 _If I'm crying in the wind,_

 _If I'm crying in the night –_

 _Will there ever be a way?_

 _Will my heart return to white?_

 _'''_

 _Can you tell me who you are?_

 _Can you tell me where I am?_

 _I've forgotten how to see,_

 _I've forgotten if I can._

 _If I opened up my eyes, there'd be no more_ _going_ _back,_

 _'Cause I'd throw it all away,_

 _And it all would fade to black..._

 **'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''**

Seras had assumed they'd been alone in the hallway - but one look over her shoulder proved otherwise. Seras felt her heart speed up in a way that felt unnatural for one reason or the next when a slim, feminine figure emerged from around the corner.

She'd been caught.

"Fear not, little fledgling." Amy smiled in a way that would have looked inviting to anyone else, but which seemed to hold it's own, threatening message to her. "I've not interest in getting you in trouble with my ex husband. You're likely to do enough of that yourself in the coming weeks." Seras frowned at her, confused.

"Just what is that supposed to mean?" Seras inquired, just a tad peeved. She realized belatedly that this was the first official conversation they had carried on since she met the woman.

"You really are naive, aren't you?" Amy smiled wider, but Seras could tell it was made to mock her. Already in an emotionally charged state, she felt her fists begin to clench at her sides almost without permission. "I can see why he would be entertained by you, in any case."

"What are you talking about?" Seras snapped, feeling her muscles tense like a cat once more, her hackles just beginning to rise. The very presence of this woman irritated her to no end. Now she had the audacity to stand there and mock her?

"You have no idea what he'll do to you, do you?" Amy said, and Seras felt her ire falter for a moment. Had she been the first to indicate something like that, Seras might of dismissed it as jealousy.

But she hadn't.

"You know what I'm talking about, I see." Amy said, voice annoyingly coy.

"No, not really." Seras admitted flatly, growing quite tired of her heart fluttering about in her chest for one night. Amy's dark chuckle, so much like Alucard's, made her heart once more speed up in a sickening way.

"You poor child." Amy cooed, coming to stand beside her. Seras reeled away from her, but held her nerve there. She couldn't be seen as weak by this...

Seras took a deep breath.

"You see, you don't know your Master like I do." Amy began, flipping her hair in a way that made it obvious it was habitual. "I was, after all, married to him once. But I left him - do you know why?" Seras looked up at her suspiciously, shaking her head.

"Because he tried to break me."

Seras' heart gave a lurch, making her unsettled stomach nearly follow. "You see," Amy continued, coming to stand closer yet. "I made him terribly angry by touching that which I was not supposed to. I did not know, of course, that I wasn't supposed to touch it - after all, we shared just about everything else with each other. Room, bed, and even some of our responsibilities. I was no Queen, of course." Seras did not miss the subtle note of bitterness in her voice as she said that, and couldn't help but feel strangely happy it was there. "He claimed that there would only ever be one Queen, and that he merely hadn't found her yet." Amy gave a wary glance to Seras. "But I would not raise your hopes for that, darling." Once more, Seras found herself resenting this woman.

"You see, I had done wrong, and the King - he grew very upset with me. I don't like to remember it," She said, her voice and eyes both lowering. It was enough to goad the confused Seras into feeling a tiny bit of pity for the woman. But only a bit. "But I remember hearing myself scream, thinking, 'is that really me?' " Amy went on, and Seras, watching the vampiress' face, could find no traces of a lie. That, unto itself, should have frightened her. But there was just something about all of this...Her intuition was trying to tell her something wasn't right here. And she knew better than to distrust, or worse dismiss, her gut feeling.

"I have scars, if you can believe it." Seras looked over at Amy abruptly, for she did, in fact, _not_ believe it.

"Show me." She demanded simply. Amy smiled in a painful kind of way, slowly undoing her dark blue blouse. Like Alucard, she seemed to keep to a particular color scheme.

"See?" She turned and showed her back to Seras, where, between her neck and shoulderblade, lie a fat, leech-like scar. Seras was astounded, of course - she didn't even know vampires _could_ scar, in the long-term.

"Wounds that are inflicted into the same place over and over can become permanently scarred in time, my dear." She explained. Seras examined the scar, and noticed that there were other, smaller ones dotted around it - she looked like she'd been nailed by a big cat's claws, with the semi-circular way the scars sat.

Seras' face went a little paler when the realization dawned on her.

"Yes, he used to bite me - quite hard." Seras once more examined the jagged edges of the fattest scar, and uncomfortably surmised that it had come not from puncturing, but _ripping_.

"But..." Seras said, brow furrowed. "Master...he's never done anything even remotely close to that with me."

"Has he not?" Amy argued, turning around. She motioned to Seras' neck, where she knew the bite-scars - the only ones she had anymore - were.

"That's not the same," She argued back, covering the bite self-consciously. "He drinks my blood sometimes, sure, but he never does it maliciously. He even asks permission."

"He _did_ , you mean." Amy retorted, as if she knew better. "Now that he has no collar or leash about his neck to yank him back if he tries to hurt you, what, pray-tell, do you suppose will stop him?" Seras swallowed. She didn't want to talk about this anymore. "If you think that he 'loves' you," Amy snarked, "Then I am afraid you are more stupid than I thought. Take it from me, and all the other wives he's had - all the one's he's mutilated and killed..." Amy came well into Seras' personal space then, making her freeze. She then whispered, in a remarkably terrifying kind of way, "The man can not feel love. And by the time you realize it - you'll be the next one who's bones become lodged in his throat as he eats you alive."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Alucard woke up later than he'd of liked, sitting up in his coffin slowly. No more had he shook the sleep from his head than a pounding came through his metal door. Glancing around, he noticed Seras was long absent from his side, her position in the coffin having gone cold. The pounding continued urgently, prompting Alucard to rise irritably - As his Master was now six feet under, he could not help but wonder which of the men had the audacity to come wake him.

Swinging open the door in a rough manner, Alucard was expecting some ballsy chicken-shit to be pounding on the door - but instead found Jean standing there panting, a look of remote panic on his face as he struggled to catch his breath.

"A-Alucard..." He huffed, doubled over. He'd sprinted quite a ways here, if the vampire had to guess. "Come, quickly." He huffed again, standing up straight.

"What seems to be the problem?" Alucard replied, half-mocking the boy.

"It's Seras." Those words, along with the dire expression on the boy's face, threw his playful mood out the window.

"What happened?"

"I'll explain later," He rushed. "But her -" He gasped for air, "Her and Amy..." Alucard needed no more information than that, already assuming the worst. With nothing more in the way of a word or sign, the vampire promptly sensed out his fledgling's location and rushed to get to her, hopefully before his damned ex wife could. Seras was a strong girl - far too strong for someone like Amy to kill - but Amy...

She had other ways of doing damage.

Amy was a trickster - like the lady Lilith incarnate, she lived to decieve people. Manipulation was one of her many tricks, and she often used it well.

Well enough to fool him, even, at some point.

Alucard stopped after wheeling around a corner, halted by a sudden, night-piercing scream. Alucard recognized the voice wasn't Seras', and was half-grateful for it...

But if Seras hadn't screamed, then...

He turned another corner sharply, and was stopped again by the sound of loud, raspy hissing; but that wasn't the only thing that gave him abrupt pause. There, standing before him in a tangled mess of limbs and blood, was his Childe and his ex-wife, both of them hissing, both of them biting the hell out of each other, with Seras having sunk her fangs solidly into Amy's shoulder and Amy having sunk hers deep into Seras' neck. The two stood in an awkward, half-hunched over position, and it was obvious they were taking a momentary break from trying to wrestle the other down.

"See," _Huff_ , "They won't stop! I can't break them up, no matter what I do!" Alucard was surprised to see Jean had caught up to him. Damn if that kid didn't have a pair of legs.

The two girls swiftly resumed their struggle, with Seras having a distinctive strength advantage, despite being a half a foot shorter. She managed to get Amy pinned beneath her, upon which the older vampiress let out a distressed, angry hiss, biting Seras' neck with renewed vigor, pulling and ripping as best as she was able at the angle she was being held at, which Seras had cleverly maneuvered so as to minimize her damaging capabilities. The same angle gave Seras an edge, allowing her to rip back like a dog without risking her own neck too much. She gave a rough tug at the flesh in her teeth, feeling entirely too satisfied at the distinctive _popping_ sound it made as the skin tore away from the muscle. Amy let out another inhuman screech, kicking and clawing to the best of her ability, desperate to get Seras off of her. But like a stubborn bulldog, Seras hung on, even as Amy let go, hoping to appease her.

It didn't work, of course, and only gave Seras that much more leverage. Placing both hands on top of Amy and hooking her talon-like claws into her ribs and shoulder, Seras, in a fit of blind fury, ripped back on the flesh in her teeth as hard as she could, ripping not just skin, but muscle, which made a distinctively different sound, a sickeningly wet, low sort of vibration through her bones and body.

The screaming fell on deaf ears as Seras, above and beyond her limits of control, continued to maul Amy with an intensity that both frightened and fascinated Alucard, who stood and watched for just a moment more, out of curiosity more than anything.

"Alucard!" Jean pleaded, becoming more and more distressed the longer this went on. Huffing, Alucard approached the two, keeping his posture so that he appeared as intimidating as possible.

 _ **"Seras."**_ The voice echoed in both the hallway and his Childe's mind, bringing her to an abrupt stop. She stood uncertainly over Amy's body for a moment, as if uncertain if she truly desired to stop.

" _Seras_." Alucard commanded again, his voice unmistakably hither-to in it's command. Coming out of a sort of stupor she hadn't even realized she was in, she lifted herself slowly from Amy's bleeding body, where the woman lie suspiciously quiet.

As Seras went to step over her, a sudden, burning pain erupted in her lower leg, and upon whirling around, she found that the vampiress had once more sunk her fangs into her, this time in her lower calf. Already above and beyond pissed off, Seras could not quite give name to the rage that boiled over her veins at the underhanded action. Before Alucard could so much as reach to grasp his Childe, she had wheeled back on Amy with the intention of biting her face off, and as her teeth made a _cracking_ kind of contact with Amy's jawbone, it was evident that she had no intentions of listening to him right then, too caught up in her emotions to pay her Master any mind.

Whether or not Amy survived this ordeal didn't particularly matter to Alucard, but what did matter was that his Childe was not obeying him. As much as he somewhat admired how savage she could be when enraged, this was not the time or place for her to be having such fits. Those were always better saved for the battlefield, or when up against a real opponent - and as Amy was discovering, she really wasn't much of an _obstacle_ , never mind an opponent, for the fledling draculina.

Deciding that this needed to stop _now_ , Alucard reached into the fray with an iron hand, grasping Seras firmly, but not painfully, by the back of her neck, and catching her wrists in his opposing hand when she, quite expectedly considering the amount of adrenaline in her veins, reached to swing at him. She gave a half-startled, half-enraged squeal, which quickly decended into a murmuring, but no less menacing growl.

"SERAS." Alucard had had enough. She would listen, or she would face the consequences - ones that he hadn't yet had to employ on the girl as of yet, and which he honestly preferred not to, as he needed her to trust him; but if push came to shove, she had to know who was bigger.

"Stop that, _now_." He demanded in no uncertain terms as she continued to blindly struggle in his grasp, growling ferally all the while. His command seemed to reach her this time, for she slowly came down from her agitated state as he continued to restrain her. Once she stopped struggling, he released her neck, instead wrapping his arm around her chest, pinning her arms to her sides in the process, lest she try to fight him further. She struggled a little bit against his punishing grip, but relented after a few seconds, too tired to fight him any more now that the adrenaline was leaving her. He looked at the wound on her neck and knew by her otherwise wan appearance that she would need extra blood tonight.

"Jean." Alucard said simply, summoning the human boy to his side instantly. "Gather a few men and take Amy outside. Keep her there until I come to retrieve her." And with that, the vampire King picked up his Childe, who struggled anew against the movement, and fled with her back to his own chambers.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"What the hell happened up there?" Alucard demanded not moments after setting his Childe down in his room. She huffed a few moments, habitually out of breath from the struggle. When she refused to answer, he grew agitated, reaching to grasp her shirt, that he might jostle a response from her. However...

Rather than reach her, he instead very, _very_ narrowly missed a right hook to his jaw.

A deep, gutteral hiss was thrown his way, a warning if ever there was one - _don't fuck with me._ It was a shame that he knew the mechanics of that game, though, for vampires as a general rule didn't hiss unless seriously angry or feeling very threatened. He personally held with the latter on that one.

"Seras." He did not raise his voice this time, recognizing that if he pushed her any farther, he would probably be the next one her teeth were clamped onto. And not in a good way.

"I..." She said shakily, her voice barely audible in the silence. Her whole body shook, he noticed, and as she swayed a bit on her feet, he realized that trying to get her to answer questions coherently right now wasn't worth the effort.

"Come on. Let's get some blood in you first. She drained a lot more than I thought." Alucard said, keeping his voice even and inviting. Seras looked up at him with a half-dazed expression, and Alucard knew that he had made a very serious miscalculation regarding his Childe's physical state. As she went to step forward, she staggered, leaning too far to the side to right herself. Before she could hit the cold cement, Alucard managed to catch her, and giving her a long sniff, decided that Amy had probably been the first to bite - the other woman certainly seemed to have more blood in her, by appearance alone, despite her flesh wounds.

Which meant that Amy had to die.

Not only because she had broken what was one of the few generally recognized moral laws of their kind and fed on another vampire's Childe without permission, but also because if she survived with Seras' - and by extension his - power inside of her, there'd be no telling what she would do with it. Alucard clenched his fist into Seras' shirt where he held her over his lap, now unconscious.

Amy had tried to kill her.

There was no other explanation that he could fathom at the time - someone certainly seemed to want Seras dead, and he was not going to brush aside the sheer volume of blood that had been taken from his Childe, nor the convenient fact that Amy had clearly provoked her into biting back - an action that ensured their blood's mixed, and that any power Seras had was transferred over to Amy as completely as possible.

He'd had enough of this. He needed answers.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Seras woke up in her Master's coffin again - she nearly assumed at this point she wasn't getting hers back - stretching out her muscles, which felt entirely too stiff. Upon stretching her neck and legs, she felt in both locations a burning kind of pain. _'What the hell?'_ She thought, not remembering initially what had happened to put her here.

"Do you remember anything?" Her Master's voice made her jump painfully, and she couldn't help but rub her neck as she sat up in the open coffin, finding her Master sitting cross-legged on his throne, which he had pulled closer to where she was at. Suddenly struck with the idea that it could have been far longer than it felt since she had fallen asleep (when did that happen again?) she glanced around in minute panic. "What day is it? How long did I sleep?" She asked in a pitchy, dry voice - not exactly comforting.

"Relax. You've been asleep most of the night." Seras sighed in relief - before groaning in misery.

"Guess that means Jean is pissed at me for not seeing him..." Seras mumbled, whilst her Master looked on, dumbfounded.

"Do you remember nothing?" He asked plainly. Seras turned to look at him incomprehendingly.

"Remember what?"

"Don't you remember what put you down here in the first place?" Seras had to think. Her memory came floating back to her bit by bit, but it was hardly complete.

"Well, I remember talking to Harold..." She blushed instantly once she'd said it, figuring it better not to let her Master know anything beyond that. "And then Amy came around..." Seras remembered now, the conversation they'd had, and her mood turned wretchedly sour.

"Anything else?"

"I remember Amy talking to me about...about you." She began, somewhat cautiously. Alucard raised a single brow, but otherwise said nothing. She took his silence as a prompt to continue, her heart, which felt very fragile as it beat violently against her ribcage, even at rest, picking back up it's rabbit pace - or, so it felt to her. "She...told me things, about how you used to treat her. Her and your other wives."

"And?" He prompted, as if it was no big deal. To him, it probably wasn't.

"Did you really mutilate her?" The question seemed to throw the King off guard. "She showed me scars on her back - I didn't even know vampires could scar." Her Master's low, rumbling chuckle echoed in the room.

"And you believed her when she said _I_ did that?" He laughed openly now. "You are shockingly gullible sometimes." Not particularly one to fancy being insulted, she threw back heatedly, "And what of you? How do I know you aren't trying to trick me?" Alucard stopped, giving her a blank stare for a second, before his face twisted into his characteristic sneer.

"And why would I need to do that?"

"I...I don't know!" Seras hadn't meant to shout, but she was so very confused... "I just...I'm tired of listening to people tell me not to trust you. Integra did it, Jean did it, Harold did it - and just now, Amy -"

"Amy is a known liar." Alucard intercepted smoothly. "She's a trickster by her very nature, which is what intrigued me about her." He explained casually, as if he were talking about the weather. "But I guess I should give you more credit. She did manage to decieve me once, too." It was Seras' turn to stare blankly. "As for what others have said - what should it matter to you?"

"Because..." Seras tried. "Because, even Integra warned me not to completely trust you, in her own way..." Alucard chuckled again, though it had a distinctively more melancholy feel to it.

"And she was right. You shouldn't completely trust me." Seras turned surprised eyes to her Master, who had stood and was now approaching her at a relatively easy pace. "I am a highly dangerous, unpredictable, and violent machine, wrapped in human-colored skin and possessing but a ghost of a soul within me." He kneeled down to her level, and she flinched when his hand reached out to touch her, his fingers landing softly on her cheek. "But are you not the same as I?" Seras looked away, knowing, somewhere deep within her, the truth behind his statement. "A monster in the dark?"

"I..." She didn't know what to say to that.

"You ought not to trust me, not because I will betray you," He explained, his hand falling to rest delicately on her throat. "But because I may ultimately devour you if I don't control myself." His wicked grin bloomed into place, but somehow, she didn't feel nearly as intimidated by it as the hand on her throat. She swallowed consciously, unsure how loosely or tightly he intended to grip her. After a moment, his smile faltered into a more natural-looking one, and he dropped his hand completely, meeting her in the eye, albeit unwillingly on her part.

"But this is something you have always known." He said, and he sounded...reassuring? "You have known from the day I met you that I wanted nothing more than to devour you that day. I would have, too, had I not seen some glimmer of a promise in you."

"Promise? For what?" He chuckled again.

"You will understand in time. Now, how about we get some fresh blood into you, hm?"

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Seras drank down the blood offered to her hastily, her poor mood forgotten as she and her Master shared an odd kind of bonding experience in the process. He gave her the blood packs by hand, refusing to let go of them even as she tried to tear them away.

" If you drink it that fast, you'll throw it back up."

"I know my limits." Seras retorted after finishing a pack in record time. Once more, due to injury, she was consuming far more blood than she felt she ought to. Alucard kept handing them to her, and she just couldn't bring herself to refuse them, until one after another she had accumulated seven of them now.

"Drink. You need as much blood as you can get. You lost a considerable amount of your own." She glanced at him in confusion, not quite recalling how that had happened.

"I will explain later. For now, just drink." He handed her another pack, and though her stomach protested from being much fuller than normal, she just couldn't say no.

Taking the pack into her mouth without his hand ever leaving it, she bit into the tip and idly sucked it down, not feeling the urge to gulp it quite as much now. She felt a strange sort of feeling flutter in her stomach whenever she looked at his hand, which still wore the now seal-less gloves - perhaps in memoriam, perhaps out of habit.

Reaching up and squeezing the pack for it's contents, she "accidentally" touched his hand, smoothing her fingers over his own in an affectionate kind of gesture. The way he was holding the packs as he fed them to her - for really, there was no other way to describe it accurately - made it seem as if he was silently testing her, trying to see if she would literally bite the hand that fed her. And what with his hand being fairly close to her mouth, it really wouldn't take very much for her to do so.

"This...might not be the best of timing," She voiced as she swallowed the last of the blood. "But...just so the record shows, I really like it when you do things like this." He quirked a confused brow at her. "Do things like what?"

"Feed me." She smiled coyly, her good mood somehow restored from her sour one earlier. She still remembered that conversation, and knew she'd need to talk to him about it, but as soon as he'd brought in blood packs - warmed up blood packs, no less - all her thoughts about arguing with him in regards to the matter flew from her mind. And now, feeling full and content, with said man feeding her by hand, which unto itself was strangely intimate, she just couldn't bring herself to stir up what she knew would become a fight.

"Ah," She sighed, feeling nearly blissful as she flopped back, as full as she felt she should be, lest she sleep until tomorrow morning trying to digest it all. But still, her Master insisted she take more.

"I don't think I should eat any more, or I won't be awake to say goodbye." She pouted. He smirked at her charmingly, taking a pack for himself. She expected him to keep it, but rather than swallowing the blood, he leaned down to her, and upon pressing his lips onto hers, let the blood flow from his mouth to hers.

It was such an intimate gesture, from her perspective, that she couldn't help but blush.

"I like it when you do that, too." She murmured shyly, face blooming scarlet.

"Well, you seem to be coloring better. The blood is helping." He remarked. Before she could retort, he kissed her again, enveloping her lips in his own. The kiss was a bit wetter than she preferred, but she wasn't going to complain, instead flicking her tongue out to lap up what remained of the blood from his lips. He responded by meeting her tongue with his own, deepening their kiss considerably in a very short period of time.

They kissed in a languid fashion, and Seras could not resist letting her mind wander away from her problems as they did so. It was strange, the way kissing him seemed to fog her mind and distract her from everything. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it, to be honest. While initially seeming like a good thing, she could see how doing this too much could create a few issues.

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Jean was in the library, reading idly. Across from him, sitting on one of the comfy leather sofas, was Harold, who also sat with a book in his lap.

"Hard to imagine this all going away, huh?" Harold said after a moment, closing his book. Jean, sensing an impending conversation, sighed at length before dog-earing his page.

"Who says it's going anywhere?" the redhead replied, taking off his reading glasses. He was a little bit peeved at having been interrupted - but he supposed that they all had different ways of coping.

"Somehow, I get the sense that when the Knights take over this establishment, they're liable to destroy it, in some fundamental way. Maybe not in the physical sense, but - y'know?" Jean nodded. He no more trusted those guffawing buffoons than Seras or Alucard did - perhaps as a measure of knowing them personally. Or, at least, as personally as one could know Alucard without being a living tank...

"Yeah. I see what you mean." Jean's fists clenched. He'd been hearing all kinds of rumors since Integra died, many of them things that the soldiers wouldn't dare to utter were she living; that unto itself made him sick, in a way, but one particular rumor had recently lit his hide on fire, making the ordinarily demur Jean Winslow boil with anger.

"I...I know rumors are supposed to be just that, but..." Jean didn't know Harold well, but he knew that he still cared about Seras - it was one thing, if nothing else, that sort of tied them together, in a way. And it was because of that tie that he felt the need to reiterate to the older man what he'd heard.

"But?" Harold prompted. Jean's fists clenched tighter.

"I heard that the Knights...might be going after her. Seras, I mean." Harold, who had been avoiding eye contact and generally lounging about in a relaxed fashion, suddenly drew to attention at the news.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, they're gonna hunt her down." Jean said, and the anger he felt about it showed in his voice. "They want to weaken Alucard - to make sure he doesn't have someone he can fall back on in case he ever falls. Besides, two vampires with Alucard's kind of power..." Jean paused for a moment, relaxing slightly. "I can understand why they're scared. But Seras? Since when has Seras ever been a threat to any of us?" Harold nodded gravely, understanding.

"I see where you're coming from, but - hear me out here -" Jean watched Harold carefully. "But just because she isn't a threat now, doesn't mean she won't be later."

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean...well, you're probably too young to know, but I've known her a long time. I can tell that she is a lot stronger now than she was even ten years ago. Hell, the four years we were together, she got stronger. A lot stronger." Jean nodded, catching on. "And that was just on her own. I mean, think about it. I knew Seras since before she could walk through walls - I was there most the times she tried and failed, to be honest." He smiled nostalgically before his expression fell back onto a much graver sort of hue. "But I can understand their concerns, especially now that she has her Master to teach her." Jean swallowed, unsure what to say. "You can imagine, surely, what sort of person he could make her become, if enough of his influence fell through her?"

"Yeah, I see what you mean...to be honest, I've thought about that too." Jean said quietly. "More and more, I notice how much they have in common...I haven't been here as long as you, you're right," he said "But I've been here long enough with the two of them to see how she was before and after he came back. And I've been here long enough to see how he's changed her...for the good, and the not-so-good."

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 **Dun-dun-dun! What exactly is Alucard's plan? What are the true intentions of the Knights - And what, exactly, did Amy tell Seras? And perhaps most valuably, what is Lukas doing right now? You'll have to wait until next time to see! :)**

 **Until then, goodbye!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Welcome back. Sorry for the delay - I finally have a Black Butler fic that seems to be taking hold, so my attention is much divided.**

 **For those out there also following Given - I promise it's not dead! I am in the process of revamping it (no pun intended) since there were a few plot details that just didn't fit. I swear I'll get back onto it, but not for a few more weeks yet. Sorry.**

 **Moving on-**

 **WARNINGS: Lemon again, because it's been awhile. Also, a rare moment of fluffy overload. I rarely think of AluSeras as being fluffy, but Alucard has his moments. :)**

 **This song...I'm sorry, but it suits this chapter way too literally. (It is also foreshadowing.) Due to repeating lines, I will only post the bulk of it, since it pretty much is the same thing over and over.**

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 **CH XXI**

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 _ **Issues**_

 _By Escape The Fate (ETF)_

 _'''_

 _This is the death of me,_

 _I feel it constantly,_

 _Just like an enemy_

 _That wants to see me bleed;_

 _''_

 _So I try to be silent,_

 _But my words, they explode like hand-granades;_

 _I just gotta stay calm before this time-bomb blows up in my face -_

 _''_

 _These issues pin me to the floor,_

 _These issues are my overlord;_

 _I feel so dominated -_

 _These issues,_

 _They choke me like a noose;_

 _(They choke me like a noose)_

 _''_

 _The Hounds of Hell, they cry -_

 _That's how they get to me;_

 _Inject my head with lies -_

 _The pain's astonishing ;_

 _''_

 _Like a brick or a stone,_

 _Slowly crushing my bones,_

 _Sendin' me to my grave;_

 _And it's just a fake,_

 _This life that I made -_

 _I'm going insane... (x I don't even know how many)_

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Lukas walked briskly down the decorated hallways of what was once Alucard's home - his mighty castle, tucked safely away from mortal eyes, far away from any town or city; a place few humans dared to tread, and from which fewer returned. The hallways were made of dull, silver-colored stone, but the bright marble floors made the moonlight, available through high, narrow, arched windows, reflect over every crevice, lighting the hallway with all sorts of angular shadows. Shadows from which the dark, oppressive air of this castle seemed to seep like slow, sticky sap, engulfing it's victims before they knew what was upon them. He moved with urgency, coming into the King's court chambers through massive, yellowed wooden doors, the arch of which was intricately decorated with cast-iron templates that looked more ancient than they were, for repairing the castle was a constant chore when it had been around for over five centuries.

The court chamber, as it was known (for all of the legalized decisions were made out here) was as midieval as the castle itself, aligned in just the same fashion. A long, red and gold carpet stretched before the long, rectangular room, the stone walls lit with lanterns and an overhead chandelier of the most expensive taste - more expensive that Alucard might have allowed, were he still upon his throne. But sadly, he was not -

No, instead he'd left this monster to rule in his place.

"Arvin." Lukas hardly bothered with formalities with the man - to him, it was because they were on friendly terms; to Lukas it was to show, in his own mind, the lack of respect he had for him. Even Alucard, monstrous as he was, wasn't a tryrant in the same way as Arvin. Whereas Alucard had wanted to take over countries, to spread his dominion, and to strengthen his control over the countries he did have relations with, Arvin had a desire to control _people_. Not nations, not councils, but people.

"Ah, Lukas. I trust you come to me for a good reason at this hour?" The tall man said, lounging in the throne which was no longer his as if it still belonged to him. Lukas, annoyed though he was, couldn't afford to let it show, lest he be beheaded for his infraction.

"I come to inform you, as you instructed, the whereabouts of lord Alucard." Arvin, who was being patiently tended on by one of the many pretty ornaments he'd collected, suddenly sat upright, shooing her away with a flick of his wrist. The girl, scantily clad, bowed her head submissively, stepping away from the throne with hands clasped. Lukas felt for her, for he knew, having treated her injuries before, just the sort of relationship she had with Arvin. To say it disgusted him was an understatement.

"Oh? You've found him? At long last?" Arvin grew more animated as his excitement grew, his platinum locks, pushed back to rest flat on his scalp in such a way as to give him the profile of some horned owl, falling slightly from their place as he moved. Arvin gave a low chuckle, the sound not at all like Alucard's own. His voice was deeper, and every bit more malicious. "Well, what are you waiting for! Tell me where that coward is! I want to know where the pathetic King of Vampires has gone to now - where that pesky human who captured him dragged him away to, what hole he was left to rot in!" Lukas resisted the urge to grimace.

"He's in London, Sir." Lukas said, kneeling with hand over chest. "Though he won't be for long."

"What do you mean by that?" Arvin growled, his subtle austrian accent coming through with his temper.

"I mean, he is no longer under Hellsing's control. The last of Van Helsing's line has fallen- and Alucard has been freed." Lukas peered up beneath his hair, watching with a morbid kind of amusement as Arvin began to turn scarlet with anger. "He informed me that he would be coming back any time now. I can not say when for sure - but were I you, I would prepare for the worst once he arrives. He is not thrilled with the way you have been handling things, it seems." Lukas carefully hid his smirk when the light of fear touched Arvin's pale red eyes, before wrath consumed them.

"Do not stand there and mock me, fangless!" Arvin bellowed, gripping the throne he sat upon with nearly enough force to break it. Again. "How do you know this? Surely he would have killed you once he knew who you were allied to." Arvin smiled cruelly. "Unless, of course, you have betrayed me."

"Of course not, M'Lord." Lukas replied casually - guiltlessly. "I did get injured, but managed to bargain with him. He is considerably...calmer, than I remember him." It was honest. The last time he had lived under rule of Alucard's reign, before he'd become a council member, he'd been of the opinion that the man had been a tyrant not unlike Arvin. But now that he had actually been under the rule of both of them, he knew who he preffered to have as his King.

"Calm, heh?" Arvin seemed pleased with this. Good. The more he underestimated Alucard, the more frightened he would be when the man showed up. "Sounds like his human captors turned him into a pet. Hmf! To think, my greatest rival, turned into a lap dog!"

"I don't know about lap, but dog, yes." Too bad Arvin didn't understand that he was a _feral_ dog. Even under Integra's command, Lukas had no doubts that he'd been just as wild as any other creature - he'd simply had a chain about his neck that could choke him when he went too far. But that was gone now. Now, there was nothing stopping him from taking back what belonged to him - and somewhere beneath Arvin's haughty facade, he knew it too.

"Let him come, then!" Arvin guffawed. "Let my long-standing rival return to me - let us engage in that glorious dance once more! The dance of death!" Arvin let out a deep cackle, but it hardly affected Lukas. He had faith, he reminded himself, clutching his cross absently. _'I believe you'll come to our aide, Alucard. Whether wittingly or not, you will come to our aide.'_

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"Master..." Seras asked shyly as she entered his chambers after saying her long-bidden farewells to Jean. The boy had cried, as expected, leaving her shirt a tearstained mess. But they'd promised to keep in touch with each other, and that soothed her somewhat. "I was wondering...what, exactly, happened yesterday? With Amy, I mean." She began, approaching Alucard with a respectful kind of caution as he sat once more upon his throne chair, looking thoughful and brooding, as he often did.

"You still don't remember?" She shook her head. "Very well then. I suppose it can't be helped." He leaned forward in his chair, beckoning her forth with a casual wave of his hand. She approached from the side, as she was taught to, since it was apparently rude to approach the King's throne facing him directly unless you were a criminal or had some other beef with him.

"Amy tried to kill you." Alucard stated bluntly. Seras reeled from the news, having no recollection of such a thing occuring. "She drained over eighty percent of your blood, and provoked you into attacking her that you might take her blood as well; this ensured that she absorbed any power you possess - which is by extension my own power as well - as wholly as possible. She was trying to assimilate my power through you. At least, that's what I was able to surmise." He paused, looking Seras dead in the face. "I did manage to interrogate her before her execution, however." Seras, who had been demurly avoiding his gaze, shot her eyes up to meet his own. "I don't understand..."

"She had to be killed. What do you suppose she might have done, with my power assimilated like that?" He said sternly. "She already tried to kill you. Which leads me to what I gathered from my interrogation." He looked Seras over, up and down, in a grim fashion. His gaze seemed to be looking for something, but what Seras could not say.

"What? What did you find?" Seras asked, anticipation making her stomach tie itself in knots.

"She was, from my understanding of it, in league with Sir Pentilton."

"Pentilton? Isn't he one of the new members that Islands annointed?"

"Yes. Which is unto itself troubling." He once more looked her in the face, meeting her eyes with a grave message written into his own. "Someone wants you dead, Seras. I wouldn't be surprised if the vampire that shot you with the arrow is also in league with the Knights."

"But, how do we know that they're all in on it? I mean, so far, all you have is Pentilton on the list, right?"

"Well, we have Islands as well. He is the head, and he did hire Pentilton under rather shady circumstances, if you recall." Yes, she remembered. The Knight that had been in service before him had gone missing under mysterious circumstances, and his body never found. As he was taking up residence in an area known to have Ghoul sightings, everyone assumed he'd been eaten. But with this...Was Islands a murderer now?

"What are you going to do? I mean, we can't exactly launch a full investigation; that would be asking for trouble."

"True. But I think I know of a vampire that could get us close enough." Her Master said, his smile as clandestine as his words. She knew well enough that he wasn't planning on continuing the conversation beyond that, having picked up on some social cue she had grown accustomed to recognizing in him subconsiously. She took a moment to be thankful to her intuition for never letting her down about things like that. It's what kept her safe where most would have met a gruesome end. Further, it let her read her Master's body language well enough that there were times they didn't even need to speak in order for his intentions to be understood.

"Enough of that. I've had enough greif in my chest for one week." He said matter-of-factly, reclining again into his chair. He kept his eyes on Seras, once more looking her up and down, still searching for something.

"Come here." He beckoned, using his finger to call her in like. She swallowed thickly, her nerves causing a jittery feeling to run up and down her spine like a mouse. Her only recollection of being brought to his throne chair, and the only outcome she generally expected of it, was being drank from. _'I don't have enough blood. If he drinks from me now, I'll faint again.'_

"Master?" She inquired, pausing at his side warily.

"Come here." He repeated, and she knew better than to make him say it a third time. She came to the front of his chair, head bowed submissively, knowing it would be pointless to fight him about it. There were some things that just weren't worth it - besides which, she had been thinking that all those refrigerated blood packs would go to waste once they left...

"I'm not going to drink from you tonight, so relax." She opened her eyes, blinking at him. "I'm not that stupid. I know you won't recover completely if I do that. Besides, if I can fast for thirty years and then some, I think I can suppress my gluttony for a night. " Seras breathed a sigh of relief. No more bloodletting tonight.

"Actually, I needed to talk to you about something rather important. But first," he smiled coyly, patting his lap. Seras flushed crimson at the implication.

"What, you'll have sex with me, share a coffin with me, but won't sit on my lap?"

"It's not that, it's just..." She cleared her throat, regaining her composure. "You just keep surprising me with things like this. Last I was aware, you really didn't like being touched. But now it seems like you want me to touch you at every turn."

"You're a worthy woman. Why wouldn't I?" She was about to call him out for being a pervert, but once she seen the look on his face, knew that he was being completely serious. _'Of course. Because a joking Alucard means we're all in trouble.'_

She approached awkwardly, turning to climb onto him, when he gripped her by the waist, making her squeak in surprise, setting her comfortably onto his thigh. She withdrew her arms, and though her posterior was comfy enough, could not shake the awkward feeling she had, sitting up here like a child on their father's lap. Perhaps that's what made it feel so weird to her. At one point, this might have been acceptable to her - but though Alucard was doubtlessly her Sire, her romantic feelings for him kind of killed the paternal affection she'd had for him...at least, it mostly did. Thinking on it, she did recall a few times when she could have likened him more to a father than a lover...She nearly shuddered. Best she not think about that too much.

"Um...so, what was it you wanted to talk about?" She asked meekly. The victorious smirk he wore faded into a more sombre expression.

"It's about your bloodrights - and all that it entails." A silence befell them. The quiet was cold and uncomfortable, contrasting greatly with the subtle warmth of her Master's body as she leaned against him. The action was completely subconscious, perhaps a measure of trust -perhaps a measure of comfort.

"I want to address something important about our relationship as well." He added after a moment, though it might as well have been an hour in Seras' mind. She looked at his face to let him know she was listening, uncertainty making her fidget with the collar of his coat.

"We have spoken before about you taking my blood - about becoming a fully independent vampire." He continued. Seras nodded, not sure she liked where this was going. She didn't like talking about it, and he knew it. "However, now is the time to reinforce that, because if you are ever to ascend in rank beyond a servant - if the Childe - of the King, then you will have to make that decision. And soon." Seras swallowed thickly. "Also..." He added, his arm coming to wrap around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "Drinking from each other is considered a very intimate gesture. So intimate, in fact, it's considered to be the traditional vampiric method for sex." Seras blushed crimson for the second time that night. "After all, our kind reproduce by biting. That's why when we are copulating, you feel the urge to bite me - where, perhaps, you did not feel the same urge with human partners." Seras blushed again, averting her eyes. It always seemed to catch her off guard whenever he mentioned that, despite the fact she knew he knew.

"So besides having better sex," Seras began lightly, "What exactly will be accomplished by 'becoming an independent vampire'?"

"Seras," Her master warned. "This is serious." Her light mood fell.

"I know." She said. "But it just...feels like if I do that..."

"Seras." He called her attention with her name, his hand leading her gaze to meet his own beneath her chin. "I'll never leave you again. Not like that. Not for a long, long time to come." He reassured her. In his eyes there was a strange kind of emotion, one she struggled to identify, but which she could sense was benign in it's nature.

"As for what you'll gain," He said softly, his lips coming dangerously close to her neck. "You'll finally have all of the power I have given you - and you'll also better develop your own." Seras looked down at her hands, recalling the obscure power she'd discovered was at her disposal - retractable claws. "Every vampire has a unique twist on the abilities their Sires or Mistresses bestow upon them; you are no different with mine. I, for one, am quite curious to discover just what will become of you once you are fully matured." His voice lowered to a whisper as his lips caressed her neck seductively. She could not resist a sigh as his hands smoothed over her ribs in a delightful way, sending pleasant shivers up her spine.

"Speaking of mature things..." He whispered against her ear, sending a jolt from her spine straight south. "Shall we make use of the night, now that I trust we have the rest of it to ourselves?" A long, slow lick up her neck made up her mind for her, and she nodded mutely.

They wasted little time wrapping around each other in an amorous embrace, clothing and all coherent thought vanishing as carnal desire overcame them. They chose to stay right where they were, making use of the ample space in the chair for her knees to rest upon as she straddled him, and though she was the one riding atop him, Alucard, being the person he was, made sure to keep control of the situation, guiding her hips into a steady rythm as her whole body bobbed like a bouy on water over his own.

Eventually the urge to thrust became too much for him, and he lifted her body some ways off his lap to attain leverage, rapidly thrusting in and out of her in a fit of suppressed urges, his body seemingly wanting to make up for lost impulses. Naturally, Seras, enjoying a little rough treatment every now and then, found this quite enjoyable, and made a point in vocalizing it as her head lolled back, her body following until her spine bowed into a neat half-arc. The action repositioned her hips as well, creating a whole new angle to enjoy things from.

"Hah, " Seras panted, "Gn...Floor...now..." She demanded, the force of their movements as her Master repeatedly pulled her hips down to meet his upward thrusts making her lose her breath at every thrust.

He gladly obliged her request, following her down in such a way as to come over her, his looming shadow blocking out the dim light from the candles mounted on the wall. In an entirely new move, he gripped her wrists in a playful manner, pinning them above her head in one hand whilst he gazed shamelessly upon her clotheless form.

"Huff...what are you doing?" She asked curiously.

"Testing you." He replied easily, a devilish smirk on his face as he re-entered her with a half-sigh. "I'm curious to see what you like."

"And..." She huffed, "What exactly do _you_ like?" A far more wicked smile painted his face in the half-light.

"I don't think you're quite ready for that yet." He said, leaning down to run his tongue up her body along her midline, thrusting abruptly forward as he did so. He sighed again as her flesh enveloped him tightly. _'Well, even if she doesn't completely satisfy me in other areas, I can't complain about the sex. At least, not yet.'_

Seras once more vocalized her pleasure, knowing of no better way to convey the message that _this_ or _that_ felt incredibly good. Remembering their last coupling, he made his own point to thrust deeply and quickly, recalling that his intitial easy pace wasn't enough. _'Let's see how rough you actually like it, shall we?'_ Up for pushing limits this time, he thrust unusually hard, testing her response as their hips clashed together in a way that ought to have been painful. Rather than respond in the way he'd expected, which was to complain about it, she instead released a long, low moan. She turned a carnal gaze upon him, the look itself stimulating, and said breathlessly, "Do...that...again..." He obliged, thrusting roughly into her, becoming increasingly excited himself. _'If this goes on much more, I won't last...'_

"Alright, let us see how rough we can get with this, shall we?" In an instant, his teeth were scraping her neck, his grip on her wrists punishing. He let his nails rake down her sides, drawing red, but not yet bloody lines along her skin as he pushed into her roughly, pinning her to the floor with his body weight as he, in a more literal sense, pounded her into the floor.

He paused for a fraction of a second when she suddenly came up, her mouth finding his neck on autopilot. He knew she'd have to bite him someday, but again had the sense she'd rather make the decision while mentally coherent. When her teeth nipped at his jugular, he carefully pushed her away, taking that as a cue that she was close to the edge herself.

He knew, at this point, that he would probably be done long before she was, even if she was close to the tipping point. Keeping that in mind, he lifted his weight off of her, dipping his hand between them to fondle her a bit, bringing her quickly up to his speed. She moaned lewdly as he did so, which did nothing whatsoever to halt his approaching end. He intended to keep his promise about not drinking from her, despite the ache in his fangs telling him to bite the oh-so-willing neck splayed before him. As such, rather than bite, he opted to pin her, holding a firm hand over her throat enough to keep her down, but not enough to completely choke her. A few hard, heavy thrusts and one more deep, penetrating one brought him to finish with a shudder, cumming heavily inside of her once more. The action was self-propogating, for it greatly aroused him to do it - to mark her as his on the inside as well as the out. It was one of a few reasons he'd chose to do it with her tonight, so that when they left tomorrow, every male vampire that migh have even the slightest inclination to court her would know to whom she belonged.

Weary from the intense session, Seras melted into a puddle of incoherent goo, relaxing more completely than she had in the last week, a state of euphoria coming over her even without the intoxicating chemicals of her Master's bite coursing through her. Thinking on it, however, she nearly missed the rush, and had half a mind yet to ask him to bite her anyway. But she knew, deep down, that it was just the hormones talking to her. If any more of her blood was drained, she wouldn't be able to recover in time to board the plane.

"Well, I think we both learned something here." Alucard said languidly, rolling off of her and into his side, propping up his head on one hand. Seras was too tired to respond at the moment, but had to agree. She'd had no idea how much that...how much _those_ kinds of things excited her. As she yawned lazily, Alucard recalled the time, noticing that it was nearly dawn.

"Come. We need our rest for the night to follow." He sat up, expecting Seras to follow - but her boneless body was just too comfy to move just then.

"I'm comfy right here." She mumbled, rubbing her eyes. She stopped half way back, examining her purpling wrists.

"Damn." She remarked, not having quite recalled it hurting enough to bruise.

"Indeed." He smirked, suddenly hoisting Seras up into a bridal-like hold, carrying her like a child to bed.

"Master..." She yawned, somehow immediately made more sleepy by the motion of his body as he carried her the short distance accross the room. This, of course, didn't escape her Master's attention, but he chose wisely not to make mention of it. "I think I love you..." The tired words were most likely a slip of the tongue, but they made him pause nonetheless. It only lasted a moment before he smiled in a bittersweet manner, placing her into the coffin before squeezing in beside her. She immediately curled into his chest like a puppy, pushing flush against him. He wrapped his arm around her in the usual way, though this time felt different somehow...as though by doing this, he was somehow accepting what she said.

"I know." He whispered, getting comfortable. "I know..."

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 **Whelp, y'all know what to do from here! Goodnight/morning!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Welcome back. Again, apologies for the absence, but school is starting up again, so you can expect update speed to slow down for a while.**

 **Huzzah, the day is finally here! The return to Romania! How will Seras deal with it? READ ON!**

 **(Yes, I am very excited to write this chappie, in case you couldn't tell. :3_)**

 **WARNINGS: Let's just say you'll hate me for this one. :p Also, the characters are sort of intentionally OOC...it's complicated. Just read it.**

 **Moving on!**

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 **CH XXII**

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Shaking. She was shaking.

Seras couldn't stop trembling. It didn't matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't seem to stop as the plane came down with the familiar gut-wrenching force of gravity. Gravity. Yes, that quite described how she felt just then. As if gravity was perpetually trying to drag her down the stairs that lead off the tiny cargo plane they'd taken in order to get as close as possible to where they needed to be without seeming suspicious. As if the earth itself was trying to swallow her up as they got off on the edge of what used to be the semi-rural town of Bucharest. The capital city was still small, but it's rural attitude had changed dramatically from the old illustrations she'd seen at the Hellsing manor. Then again, those drawings had been nearly a hundred years old...

"Master?" Seras piped up, her throat feeling dry. "Where, exactly, will we be going?"

"To a secluded area, deep in the Carpathians." He replied casually. "My original castle was overtaken when Van Helsing captured me. So, a new one had to be built farther away."

"How far, exactly?" He chuckled lightly.

"Between the rivers _Falcau_ and _Moara Dracului.*_ " Alucard said smoothly. "It's in a shallow valley, of sorts. It's about as far away from civilization as you can get in Romania, since no one really wants to live on that end of the mountains. Even I wouldn't live there if I didn't have to. The terrain is horrible, and the precipices steep and sharp. It makes navigating a bitch. But that's what's kept our kingdom safe."

"Our? As in collective 'we' or you-and-me 'we'?" Alucard chuckled again.

"This is why English is a pain to speak." He commented. "But you'll be speaking Romanian and Slovakian soon enough."

"Wait, I have to learn _two_ languages?"

"Well, as many people in southern Romania speak Slovakian, I should think you would want to learn it. Or are you content to be unable to communicate with people forever?" Seras didn't need to think about it, quite recalling the last time she was here.

"Alright. Well, I guess it can't be too much harder than learning Japanese..."

"You speak Japanese too?" Alucard remarked with a raised brow. He was learning new things about her every day here lately.

"Um, yes, I do. I also speak a little English sign language, though I'm hardly fluent."

"Any other special talents I should be made aware of?" Alucard sassed sarcastically, leading Seras around to the car he'd rented. When she didn't respond, he looked over to find her watching the mountains in the distance, clearly surprised.

"You can enjoy the view once we actually get to the castle." He huffed as he got in. "Come on. We haven't got all night."

"Yes, Master!" She rushed to get in, her mind put at ease somehow knowing that they'd be there soon.

"Besides," Alucard remarked casually, putting the vehicle into gear. "If you think the sight of the mountains is incredible from here, just wait until we actually get into them."

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Master hadn't been lying when he'd said the view was better from within the folds of the mointains. On every side, mighty fir and spruce trees towered, heedless of the rocky terrain. As they bounced along the unpaved roads, Seras seen a lone deer bound up a hill to her right, startled by the unexpected presence of human machinery.

"Oof!" She exclaimed as they ran over a log. "Is there any smoother road?"

"We're in the middle of the Carpathian wilderness. What do you think?" The car abruptly stopped, sending Seras into the dash with another winded exclamation.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"The road stopped."

Seras didn't want to believe him initially, but looking ahead of them in the night, she seen the road narrow abruptly until it was hardly wide enough to walk through, never mind drive in. The trees that she had been marvelling had overgrown the road and cut them off for a ways, if the dense shadows lurking beneath the ones in front of them were any indication.

"Oh, great." Seras huffed. "And how are we supposed to get there now?"

"Simple. We fly." Seras blinked as her Master exited the vehicle with as much abruptness as he'd stopped it with. Shaking her head to dispell her surprise, she joined him in a much less speedy fashion. Something occurred to her then, something she was honestly shocked she hadn't thought of before. Mentally face-palming before doing it for real, she joined her Master at his side, curious about his irritable demeanor.

"I just thought of something," She announced, her hand stroking her neck absently. "You can teleport, right?" He looked down at her sideways. "Then why the bloody hell did we take a plane?!"

"Because I am unsure if I am able to carry you with me when I do." He said simply, face impassive. "I have tried it with small animals, but rarely does it end well. While I can dematerialize to move through space, the animal's body can not."

"But those are animals." Seras argued. "I'm a vampire. Plus, I can walk through walls just like you can."

"Seras." His tone was warning. It reminded her of something.

"Master?" She asked, placing a delicate hand on his arm as if to keep him from escaping. Indeed, she thought, that was exactly it's purpose. "Why are you so agitated? Didn't you want to come here?" She seen his irises harden, even beneath the glasses he presently wore. His walls were ascending.

"Master, you know you can talk to me, right?" She reassured, somewhat concerned. Her intuition sensed a shift in his demeanor, and she quite expected the dark chuckle that escaped his lips. His guard was up. He was about to say something, but she cut him off before he could, knowing he would shut her down anyway.

"Master." It was her turn to use a stern voice. It was the only thing that would get his attention with the mood he was in, and as his crimson gaze drifted down to meet her own, she knew it worked like a charm. She came to stand in front of him then, reaching up and placing her hands fearlessly on his collar.

"We...We aren't the same anymore." She said definitively, as if conforming it to herself. His expression changed from guarded impassiveness to surprise instantly, the dying headlights casting new shadows on his face from the half-moon hanging overhead.

"We aren't the same." She reiterated. "Our relationship isn't the same, and it won't be from now on, right?" She asked. "Right?" She demanded, stepping closer to him. "What sort of duo are we supposed to be if we can't talk, huh?" She asked coyly, stroking his collar. Seems he wasn't the only one acting strange this evening. _'But it's paying off. He's relaxing.'_ She stroked his collar again, and could visibly see his shoulders losing their tension. _'Thank God for Jean's advice.'_ She thought, remembering her friend's parting words of wisdom to her.

 _"If your Master is ever feeling a little...rough,"_ He'd said, _"Or he's in a sour mood, you should try to bring 'im up with a little pet. Y'know, like how you do to me when I'm upset. Dunno if it'll work, but y' might be able to appease him a little if ya act just right."_ Seras recognized then that his words had been said out of worry; even Jean seemed afraid that her Master would hurt her in some way. But she was silently thankful for them now that she knew it worked.

"You're acting strange tonight. Has the Carpathian air done something to the Seras I used to know?" He teased, his mood sufficiently lightened.

"No - it's just..." She bowed her head meekly. "I want to think of this as...starting over. Yes. Like when I became a vampire." Her master frowned a bit. "My life is changing about the same, by the sounds of it." She smiled at him tenderly, stroking his chest as she gradually leaned against him. "With that in mind, I think this way of life is going to take some getting used to all the same. I mean, I was never the type of girl to like being treated like a princess, never mind actually being one." She breathed a comforting sigh, rubbing her neck absently. "But I..." She swallowed down the pain that rattled in her chest at what she had to say. "I don't have Integra here anymore to help me cope." She explained somberly. "I've got no one in this place but you now. No friends, no family..." Alucard spared her a pitying glance beneath his spectacles. "No one but you." She leaned back to look him in the eye, not having realized that she'd leaned her face into his chest, or that her arms had somehow found their way around his waist. "So I _need_ you. I need to trust you. And I need you to trust me." A silence followed while he processed what she'd said. Feeling unsatisfied, she added, "Besides, everyone needs someone they can talk to. Even you." Alucard went to rebutte her, but recalled involuntarily the precarious nature of his relationship to Walter. They had talked of many things Alucard would normally have not told anyone. But that turncoat bastard had still betrayed him in the end - it wasn't a slight he could easily get over. Not with Walter.

Seras was different, though. She was like a kitten that hadn't been weaned yet - always following it's mother, doing as she instructed with her own little flair. She wandered off sometimes, and was usually lost inside her head, but she always came running when she was called. If he was honest with himself, (which he wasn't) he'd admit that it scared him. Because as any pet owner knew, kittens grew up into cats eventually - and when cats run away, sometimes they don't ever come back.

"You're upset." Seras remarked, touching his cheek. "Talk to me."

"I'm not upset." he defended. "I am uncertain of what we are walking into. Already, someone's tried to kill you twice, most likely in an effort to make a pass at me." Alucard explained. "Arvin and I are old rivals. We met in Germany long before the Reich's time. He and I spent years together, and he was my right hand for a long, long time." His eyes grew distant as he explained. "Now, however, he must be kicked off his throne." Alucard all but hissed, his hackles rising. Strangely, however, Seras felt no danger, sensing that his ire was not hers to have. "And that is not likely to be an easy task. It will probably put you in immediate danger - "

"Thank you." He turned a bewildered stare at her, all other expressions bleeding from his face. "For worrying about me. But I'm a bigger girl than you think." She reassured him, a spark lighting in her eyes, reminding Alucard that she had been the one left behind to protect Hellsing. Comforted, he nodded, a feral grin coming onto his face.

"Then let's go show them how big you really are."

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 **Aaaaaand you all hate me now. Cliffie!**

 **Ok, ok, but seriously. This is a big enough chunk by itself. Alucard is realizing his fears? *gasp* what is the world coming to?! Since when is** _ **Alucard**_ **aware of his own feelings? Could it be...?**

 **Well, consider this the calm before the storm - for indeed, foul weather lies ahead. (Ha, ha, there's a** _ **Dracula**_ **reference there...No? Ok...) Oh, what's a helpless fledgling that can't fly on her own to do? You'll have to wait and see. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!**

 **Now, we come again to my favourite thing to exclaim in the ENTIRE world -**

 **ASTERISKS!**

 *** The rivers** _ **Falcau**_ **and** _ **Moara Dracului**_ **:** _Are two VERY real rivers than intersect in the Carpathian mountians, and there are no human settlements anywhere within a 25 mile radius of either due to how steep the mountains are. The only thing humans do up there is log for timber...hm, wonder where the vampires find their source of sustenance..._

 _Also, I couldn't find a meaning for Falcau (Pronounced "FALL-SHAU" I think, with an accented symbol I can't type on this site) But Moara Dracului (MOW-UH-RAH DRAK-KU-LEWI) literally translates to "The Devil's Mill" So you can bet that I'll be using that. :)_

 **Until next time, you all know what to do! I bid you Aufweidersehen!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Ok, I updated this as fast as possible. I know the suspense is killing y'all! But I broke it up because...*Sob* This will be the almost-last chapter of this fic. It's drawing to a close to fast, I can't help but drag it out.**

 **But fear not, there will be a sequel fic - the first one I've ever done. THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS FIC HAPPEN! Your encouragment means loads to me. :)**

 **Also, as you will find, I'm really more of a Shoujo writer than a Shonen one (ironically). As a result of that, messy fight scenes aren't particularly my specialty unless they involve swords, words, or plain teeth and claws. But angst? That I can do. Just saying.**

 **Now, on to what you REALLY want:**

 **WARNINGS: Blood. Implied violence. A not-so surprise. (Because you guys already hate me). The usual.**

 **Going on - HEADSTRONG!**

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 **CH XXIII**

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Blood.

It rushed through her veins, heart beating hard in her ears. It stained her hands, still fresh on her lips. It ran down her legs, her shaking body not feeling it at all. She was blind, the light too raw on her overworked retinas to make out anything except bright, sparkling light. Every now and then, there was a shadow that crossed over the light, a figureless form calling her name. But no matter how far she reached, she couldn't grasp at him. No matter how loud she screamed, he could not hear her call. She struggled in the grasps of something or the other, but no matter how hard she fought, she could not get free.

 _'I am so tired...It's just like that one time...yeah...'_ Her mind struggled to form thoughts. She was so tired. She tried to move, but felt something hold her down. In the next moment, there was something heavy on top of her, but it wasn't an oppressive weight. In fact, it felt...comforting. The shadow came again, saying something to her. She couldn't hear though, drifting farther away. She jolted when something touched her stomach, kicking against the intrusion. It didn't feel right. Something didn't feel right.

 _"Sss...Se...S...Seras..."_ The voice echoed in her mind. It felt...disconected. No, something wasn't right about this at all. But what was wrong?

 _'Where am I?'_ She thought. _'This isn't where I'm supposed to be. No. Where is Master?My Master...Am I laying next to him? Is that what I feel?'_ She thought. _'No. It's not Master. Where is Master? Where is Alucard? He was right next to me...did he leave? Did he disappear again?'_

 _ **"No.'**_ The voice in her head startled her, making her heart skip a beat dangerously. _**"I'm here, Seras. I'm here...You're going to be okay. You'll be okay. Just don't fall asleep...Whatever you do, DON'T FALL ASLEEP."**_

 _"Master,"_ She tried to smile. _"There you are. I'm...glad..."_

 _ **"Seras, NO! Don't fall asleep! Stay awake!"**_ She couldn't. Not this time.

 _'Sorry, Master, but I have to disobey you...'_

 _ **"SERAS! Wake up!"**_

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Seras woke with a start, sitting up in her bed. Well, to call it hers wouldn't be right - she looked quickly over to see her Master laying back, eyes open and awake, watching her with a mixture of apprehension and fatigue.

"You were having a devil of a nightmare. I tried to wake you up by walking in your dreams again, but your mind distorted my presence there. You're getting stronger." Seras breathed, looking down at her hands, which were shaking. "That...was a dream?" Her whole body shook. It felt so real. Like she was dying...

"Arvin..." She started, but her Master cut her off.

"He's gone now, Seras. Don't you remember?" She struggled to get her mind into working order, her dream having shook her more than she'd of liked.

"He fled. Like the bloody coward he is." Alucard reminded her. "As soon as I came in, the man became a complete chicken, oweing, apparently, to Lukas' charms." Seras swallowed, taking a calming breath.

"What did Lukas do to him, anyway?"

"Nothing of particular merit. He merely cast an illusion on poor Arvin the night we arrived here with a grim reminder of my power. He ruined the fun, if you ask me. I was quite looking forward to fighting my old nemesis. But I guess time has weakened his resolve."

"Is everyone else okay?" Seras asked, voice shaky. Her body still trembled against her will, her head spinning.

"Seras." Her Master said sternly. She turned to look at him, and was met with his hand on her cheek.

"It was only a dream." He reassured her in a strangely gentle manner. "Now, let's go back to sleep. You need your rest for this evening." She nodded, lying back down against him, tucking her head into his shoulder.

"Can I sleep like this for now?" She asked. His arm wrapping around her shoulder answered for him.

"Go to sleep. We have a full night ahead."

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Seras walked along the corridors with her Master, feeling incredibly awkward as every pair of eyes they passed came to stare at her walking by. _'Probably because of this stupid outfit. Damn master, why did you have to make me wear a DRESS!'_ Seras mentally pouted. He'd said something about it being a traditional thing, but the amused look he'd given her when she had to ask him to tie the bodice of the damn thing had her convinced he was doing it just to torment her.

 _'They're all staring at me...what the hell master Alucard! Putting me in something like this - it barely fits me!'_ The dress was one befitting of a persian princess, and was doubtlessly as old as her Master, if not older still. It was made of dark scarlet coloured silk that was embroidered with gold and silver, with a beautiful mosaic pattern woven into the bottom in shades of lighter red and copper. It was a beautiful dress, no doubt, but it left her chest with little room, forcing her to bear more cleavage than she was comfortable with. What's more, the dress was made for someone far taller than her, and so she struggled not to trip over it as she walked beside him.

Alucard had changed attire as well - he wore clothes that matched her dress in colour, but stuck to a more traditional romanian style, with a long, scarlet overcoat draping his form, bordered at the collar by what looked like soft black fur. The latches that kept the coat shut were trimmed in gold, though the rest of the hems were stitched in black. He'd also forsaken his combat boots, as had she, for more formal black ones.

"Let me do the talking, and we should be fine." Alucard said once they rounded a corner, headed to some room unknown.

"Where are we going anyway? And why - " Seras complained as she once again stumbled over the dress. "Is this dress so damn long?" Alucard merely chuckled.

"It's supposed to cover your ankles." He remarked, smirking in amusement. As she looked up at him, she was grateful he hadn't changed the appearance of his hair or face. She wasn't sure she could handle that big of a change right now.

"My ankles? It covers my entire foot!" Alucard only grinned. He was in a good mood today, she noted.

They walked on for a ways before he added, "That dress used to belong to my first wife." Seras looked at him as he said this, not expecting any more commentary from him. "My human one. It was her wedding gown. Every woman I have ever given a seat to beside me has worn that dress on the day they were presented to the council." He turned to look ahead of him with a nearly nostalgic gleam in his eye. "Though you are not my wife this time, I thought it would be fitting for you to wear it today."

"Why, might I ask, does every woman wear this dress on this day?" Seras almost dreaded to know.

"Because normally, I present them as my wife or fiance to the council, who must agree upon my choice - not that their disagreement has ever stopped me before. It is a tradition in this estate, of sorts, for the new bride to wear it. Besides, that dress is really all I have left of her - or my human life, for that matter." Seras felt guilty for cursing it now, instead examining the curls of embroidery on it. It was the only thing her Master had left of his human life, and probably the only thing from that time that had any kind of happy memories attached to it. She stroked the red silk, admiring how well-kept it was for it's age.

"Could I ever be your wife, I wonder?" Seras wondered out loud in a soft whisper. Her Master, realizing she hadn't meant to say it aloud, kept a quiet grin on his face as they went onward.

 _'Perhaps you shall, my little Seras. Perhaps you shall.'_

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They entered an ornately decorated square-shaped room, with the walls themselves painted blue and gold in ancient, atlernating patterns. At the center of the room was a large oval table, not unlike what Integra had had in her own meeting room, made of reddish wood that had a varnish so smooth you could probably use it for a mirror. At the table sat six individuals, some of which Seras recognized. In the middle of the table opposite where they'd entered sat Lukas, who beamed a friendly expression at the two as they entered. One person over to his right (their left), was, much to Seras' surprise, Ariel, and as those nearest to them turned their heads to see the newcomers, she also recognized Duma, who rose from his seat to greet them, offering a shallow bow.

"Welcome, Lord Alucard, Lady Seras." He rose from his bow as Alucard lead her to the "official" seat at the end of the table, having her sit, as usual, right beside him.

Seras took the time to examine some of the newer faces, and found them all wearing similar expressions of wariness or obvious discontent, though whether it was with her or her Master, she could not presently tell. Deciding it was wiser to look to a more friendly face, Seras was not-so-shockingly disappointed when Ariel's expression was no less grim, though he held his head down at an angle which concealed his eyes in shadow.

"You have returned, at last, to your place upon the throne." Seras looked around Duma, whom she was seated nearest to, to look at the vampire at the other end of the table as he spoke for the first time. His voice was deep, but had a casual kind of air, as did his general countenance; all council members were wearing the same black robes, but this one's expression seemed at once both at-ease and dangerously on-edge - the long, silky black hair that dangled halfway across his face didn't add to any sense of comfort around him, either. He was truly a beautiful sight to behold, if she was being honest; dark areas around his eyes that could have been from sleep deprivation made it seem like he was wearing eye-shadow, a fact which made his blood-coloured irises seem brighter than they were. His skin was the colour of snow, and so translucent was it in some places that as he rested his hands casually upon the table's surface, she could already see the veins running along his wrist. However, rather than the transparency of his skin making him appear vulgar or frightening, it actually (somehow) added to his attractiveness.

And that, in a way, frightened her.

Looking back to Alucard, she could almost call him dark-skinned in comparison, and as she spared a glance over at Lukas, found a most worrying sort of frown on his face.

"It has been a long time, Elias." Alucard greeted with his trademark grin - he was on guard.

"You know you are always welcome to refer to me as simply Eli." The man said pleasantly, and Seras had to mentally check herself when she realized he was speaking perfect English.

"Now, in the interests of moving things along, I must ask - who is the special lady whom you've invited into our midst this evening?" Seras felt a ripple of unease grip her at the smooth, deliberate way he spoke. Something didn't settle right with her about it.

"My Childe, if you must know." Alucard's grin faltered, giving way to a more obviously guarded expression, though it likely seemed impassive to most. "Though she isn't my wife this time. Not yet, anyway." Seras couldn't resist turning her head like an owl to stare at her Master for a moment, unsure what to make of the situation in general, never mind a statement like that.

"I see." Elias said, a sly kind of smile on his face as he examined Seras passively, showing no real interest in her. _'In a way I'm kind of grateful for that, but...'_ She regarded Elias warily. _'Something doesn't feel right about him. He's too...calm. No - maybe calm isn't the right word. In any case, there's definitely something_ _ **off**_ _about him.'_

"Pleasantries aside," Another council member said, one far stockier than the slender Elias, and looking about as mean. "We have things to discuss, don't we, Alucard?" Seras shuddered at the sound of the man's voice, which sounded like thunder even when he was speaking quietly.

"Indeed, though I can't quite say if I'm ready yet to discuss those things." Alucard replied casually. Seras watched the man's face transform into a fairly accurate visage of an angry tiger, with lips just beginning to draw over his fangs, which, Seras noted, stuck out of his mouth when it was closed.

"Now, now, Baxter. Keep your temper." Elias chided him like he was a child, his regal, calm disposition never faltering. "No need to start a fight. If the King will not discuss his renewed duties at this time, then we are not one's to hinder him, are we?" Seras felt her hackles start to rise almost against her will before realizing it was because her Master's energy had begun to seep from him, wrapping itself around her like the loose folds of a blanket. Was he protecting her? Warning her? From what?

"Elias - " A third member, one substantially more scraggly looking than Elias, announced. "Do you not think that it would be wiser to discuss those things now?" Seras took a moment to listen to his voice, and didn't like what she heard even more than the last one, for his voice was coarse and raspy like a serpent's, and had a shady appearance to match.

"We can not force the hand of the King, Tobi." Elias said. "If he will not venture, we can not move. We are, after all, merely pieces on the board." Elias drew up a hand to support his chin, revealing long, black fingernails that looked more akin to claws than Seras would have liked. "We, the Council, are merely the Rooks* of the chessboard. Our only duty is to keep the King out of danger by directing his movements and, when necessary," His hand came down suddenly upon the table with a hard _smack_ , making Seras jump. "Sacrificing ourselves." Elias' expression then could have been likened to a fox that'd caught a hen, and Seras, being of the type to avoid confrontation when possible, couldn't help but look quickly away when that same devilish expression came her way.

 _'Man, that guy gives me chills!'_

"I almost forgot," Elias said, his eyes still stuck on Seras. She grimmaced when his stare became borderline predatory, and right then formulated a long list of reasons to avoid this guy - not that she needed any more than one, if he was going to look at her like that. "You never did mention the Lady's name." Alucard turned to Seras expectantly, as did all the other eyes in the room - except for Ariel, who's gaze had not moved from it's downward position.

"Seras. Seras Victoria." Seras introduced herself half-absently, mind caught upon the mentally absent Ariel - what was wrong with him? Was he in trouble? Why wasn't he looking up?

A chuckle that sounded like broken glass, light and sharp, reached her ears and drew her attention back to the dark, eerie Elias, who now was showing far more interest in her than she liked. "It would seem your Child has a wandering mind." He remarked, and Seras realized then that she'd half-mumbled her name, rather than stating it in a dignified way. _'Oh great. Way to make a first impression, numbskull!'_

"Indeed, she does." Alucard agreed, causing Seras to stare at him with half a glare on her mind. "But I think you will find her energetic spirit to be quite capable of doing things that even I wouldn't dream of." Seras' expression changed then to utter bewilderment, her train of thought switching tracks. _'What's that supposed to mean? I'm not nearly as terrible as he is...am I?'_ Anxiety cut into her stomach like broken mirror shards, forcing her to reflect upon her past doings. _'Sure, I've hunted humans, but it's not like he doesn't do it regularly...'_

"I see." was Elias' response. He rose then, and the three strangers plus Duma followed suit.

"Well then, Alucard." Elias stated, "If there is nothing more to be had today, then there is no sense in keeping this meeting going." He looked once more to Seras with an unidentifiable emotion in his dark red irises. "With that, I bid you and your Childe a fair night." As Elias bowed, Alucard stood, encouraging Seras to rise as well, his energy still wrapped around her and getting tighter.

"I assure you, the night will not be wasted." A brief exchange of toothy grins told Seras that these two obviously had some kind of beef with each other - for they weren't truly smiling when they grinned at each other, but baring their teeth.

Ariel followed soon behind, and as he lifted his head for the first time, Seras got a clear picture of why he'd kept it down. Somehow, a long, jagged scar had appeared on his face from brow to cheek over one eye, though the organ itself wasn't damaged. _'He was punished.'_ Her mind said, and she could not help but spare him a look of pity as he walked out of the door. Lukas remained where he was at, only standing once everyone else had gone.

"Well, my Lady," He addressed Seras, coming around the table to stand beside her. He intended to reach out his hand to her, but halted halfway there, sensing her Master's energy around her with a startled expression.

"It isn't you." Alucard clarified, and his energy dissipated. "I neither like nor trust Elias with anything. He may be the oldest vampire in Romania, but that does not make him right."

"I agree completely, my Lord." Lukas said with a formal hand over his chest. "However, seniority does give him entitlement, per our kind's custom. As such, even you would be hard-pressed to remove him from authority, short of killing him." Sensing his mistake, Lukas rushed to add, "Which isn't wise, since he has been the primary hope of this place since you left."

"Hope? Since when do vampire's hope?"

"When you are stuck beneath the thumb of someone like Arvin, anyone can hope for some kind of

"Um..." Seras interjected as politely as possible, drawing both sets of eyes to her. "Forgive me for not knowing, but what exactly did Arvin do that was so terrible?" Lukas looked at Alucard almost accusingly.

"You bring her here to fight him, yet tell her not of what he's done?"

"There wasn't enough time." Alucard excused. Lukas gave him a 'I call bullshit' kind of look, nearly making Seras laugh, though she got away with covering her smile with her hand. He then turned his attention to her, clearing his throat.

"Arvin, besides trying to abolish the fangless, enforced a rather indignant and wholly unjustified series of laws about how vampires were to mingle with the human race." Lukas' displeasure was evident in his voice. "He tried, for instance, to enforce that all vampires, fangless or otherwise, were to actively feed on the humans of neighboring villages, in order to 'keep the human population down' in those areas." Lukas' teeth grit in his mouth. "Besides causing problems with vampiric activity and ghouls, his methodology caused severe ramifications for the fangless. We can not feed on humans like other vampires do, what with our fangs permanently removed." Lukas' expression became melancholy. "For normal vampires, it is almost impossible to starve to death. Once your hunger becomes great enough, your instincts will kick in and you will be forced by them to feed." Lukas touched his chin absently, his eyes distant. "But removing the primary fangs from a vampire changes them. Their teeth no longer transform into carnivorous fangs, and the venom that paralyzes human prey and intoxicates them is not as strong. With no fangs, a human bitten is probable to escape - though being fangless does have one advantage, in a way, regarding that." Seras listened intently. "For reasons I can not explain, humans that are bitten by a fangless do not always change into vampires or ghouls." Seras exchanged glances with Alucard about this. "Sometimes, even when skin is broken, they simply continue to bleed - but sometimes never change at all, or even more rarely, half-change."

"Half?"

"Yes. This has only happened so far with virgins who are bitten; they gain vampiric power, and thirst for blood, yet do not fully transform. Often, they become human again after a few days."

"The same effect as humans drinking vampire blood." Alucard remarked. "Interesting."

"You are not the only one to think so." Lukas said morosely. "Arvin attempted to...shall we say, cultivate, our faction for his own uses. Of course, no one would agree to become his experimental toys, but..."

"How intriguing." Alucard said, a sly smirk on his face. "Here I didn't even know there was such a thing as a fangless vampire, and now I am learning that they may hold the key to undoing our curse."

"Perhaps," Lukas said warily. "However, while our bite does not always transfer our curse unto others completely, those are fairly rare exceptions. Besides, even if there was a way to undo it, I very much doubt it would go over well, since the only one's who would be able to use it are newborn vampires. If you were to turn yourself human after living longer than their lifespan..."

"You would die." Alucard finished. "Perhaps. But it would certainly make for a revolutionary cure." Alucard grinned the way he did when he got excited, and Seras had to restrain a groan, knowing she now had to deal with an emotionally aroused Alucard all night.

"Indeed." Sensing the conversation closing, Seras went to the door, and wasn't surprised when the other two ghosted behind, still having some sort of silent conversation as Lukas more or less escorted them back to Alucard's chambers.

"You are welcome to come here when you like, so long as you don't enter without permission." Alucard said when they arrived to the double doors. Seras looked at him almost affectionately, not really surprised he would give Lukas such a permission. Ordinarily Alucard's 'room' consisted of the room itself as well as anything four meters outside of it. For him to allow Lukas the permission of coming within those four meters was akin to anyone else saying he could walk in whenever he liked.

"Of course, my Lord." Lukas bowed formally once more. "Then, I bid you and the Lady good night." He reached out and kissed her hand again, causing her to blush profusely. He then stood and without another word went on his merry way.

"Can I get out of this dress now?" Seras whined involuntarily. The bodice was beginning to hurt.

"Only if I get to take it off of you."

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

 **Mwahahaha, I am evil and I know it.**

 **Ok, ok, so leaving that there. Whatchu think? I know it got confusing in some areas, but it's taken me two and a half weeks to pump this out between school and other fanfictions, so forgive me if it's a tad choppy.**

 **Whelp, you know what to do: untill then, I bid thee farewell, until the next (far more steamy) episode, with much angst yet to come!**


End file.
